<p class="chapo">The prestigious &ldquo;Acad&eacute;mie Julian&rdquo; was established in 1868 by Rodolphe Julian as a private studio school for art students, preparing them for the entrance exams of the renowned &ldquo;&Eacute;cole des Beaux-Arts&rdquo; (School of Fine Arts) and also offering them independent training in arts. Many international students came to study here, in particular Americans and Europeans, who wanted to develop their artistic skills in the renowned &ldquo;Avant-Garde&rdquo; Paris.</p>

<p class="chapo">Up until 1897 women were not allowed to enrol for study at the &ldquo;&Eacute;cole des Beaux-Arts&rdquo;, they also had to wait until 1903 to be granted the right to compete for the &ldquo;Prix de Rome&rdquo;, a prize awarded to promising young artists.</p>

<p class="chapo">However, with it&rsquo;s modern outlook and thanks to the fact that Rodolphe Julian and many of his teachers spoke English the &ldquo;Acad&eacute;mie Julian&rdquo; was the first French art school to accept both women and international students, providing them with highly sought after artistic training.</p>

<p class="chapo">The success of this prestigious art school was also down to it&rsquo;s innovative approach incorporated into teaching methods; taking into consideration the needs of students whilst adapting to the ever-changing artistic movements.</p>

<p class="chapo">Today, ESAG Penninghen students learn to master their art in the footsteps of famous artists and former students &nbsp;such as Maurice Denis, Fernand Leger, Henri Matisse, Robert Rauschenberg, Edouard Vuillard Affichistes (poster artist) such as; Cassandre, Alphonse Mucha and Bernard Villemot, as well as architects Jacques Majorelle and Henri Van de Velde, sculptors; Jean Arp, Jean Dubuffet, Fran&ccedil;ois-Xavier Lalanne, filmmaker; Fritz Lang, Photographer; Jacques-Henri Lartigue, plus furniture designer and Architect Eileen Gray.</p>

<p class="chapo">Since its creation in 1968, ESAG Penninghen has employed teachers from a wide range of professional artistic backgrounds; architects to product designers, graphic designers to web designers, both French and international profiles which has attracted a host of international students from around the world. More and more international students come to study at our school each year. Currently, there are around sixty international students studying at ESAG, which represents nearly 10% of total student enrolment. A large percentage of these students come from Asia (China, South Korean Vietnam, Taiwan) followed by Europe (UK, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Poland, Spain, Luxemburg, Germany, Portugal, Switzerland, Belgium, Greece, Holland, Sweden). A small percentage of our international students come from countries such as Algeria, Morocco, Cameroon, Mali, Canada, America, Brazil and Mexico.</p>

<p class="chapo">Thanks to our international partnerships with design schools and art colleges throughout Asia, America and Australia, as well as our active participation in international exchange programs such as SOCRATES/ERASMUS throughout Europe, our students can benefit from a large and comprehensive international network.</p>
