The Academy was founded in 1666 by Louis XIV under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Charles Le Brun and Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
The FrenchAcademy in Rome was through the nineteenth century the culmination of study for select Frenchartists who, having won the prestigious Prix de Rome (Rome Prize), were honored with a 5-year scholarship in the Eternal City for the purpose of the study of art and architecture.
One well-known director of the Academy was Balthus.