The Academia de Bellas Artes or Academy of Fine Arts of Seville was an institution for the instruction of students into the diverse arts. It was founded on January 1, 1660, upon the encouragement of Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

Bartolomé Estéban Murillo

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo was a Spanish Baroque painter. Although he is best known for his religious works, Murillo also produced a considerable number of paintings of contemporary women and children...

, its first president. Murillo was able to also obtain the support of Juan de Valdés Leal

Juan de Valdés Leal

Juan de Valdés Leal was a Spanish painter of the Baroque era.He was born in Seville in 1622, and distinguished himself as a painter, sculptor, and architect. He worked for a time under Antonio del Castillo. Among his works are a History of the Prophet Elias for the church of the Carmelites; a...

, the second president and the younger Francisco de Herrera for this association, and the first meeting was attended by Herrera, Murillo, Valdés Leal, Sebastian Llanos y Valdes, Pedro Honorio de Palencia, , Cornelio Schut, Ignacio de Iriarte, Matias de Arteaga

Matias de Arteaga

Matias de Arteaga, — son of Bartolomé Arteaga, an engraver of repute at Seville in the reign of Philip IV, — was born in Seville about 1630, and studied painting under his fellow-citizen, Valdés Leal, and became a tolerable artist. His pictures, mostly of the Virgin, with architectural backgrounds,...

, Matias de Carbajal, Antonio de Lejalde, Juan de Arenas, Juan Martinez, Pedro Ramirez, Bernabé de Ayala

Bernabé de Ayala

Bernabé de Ayala, an historical painter, who was born at Seville in the beginning of the 17th century, studied under Zurbaran, and imitated his manner in his tints and draperies. No doubt many of his pictures are now mistaken for the work of his master...

, Carlos de Negron, Pedro de Medina, Bernardo Arias Maldonado, Diego Diaz, Antonio de Zarzoza, Juan Lopez Carrasco, Pedro de Camprobin, Martin de Atienza, Alonso Perez de Herrera.

"The duties of the presidents, who revolved their position on alternate weeks, were to direct the progress of the pupils, resolve their doubts and settle their disputes, impose fines and preserve order in the school, and select new members entitled them to the rank of academician. The expenses of coal candle models and other items were defrayed by a monthly subscription of six reales, paid by each member; while students were liberally admitted for the purposes of study, on the payment of whatever fee they could afford.

The students had to profess his orthodoxy by stating Praised be the most holy Eucharist and the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady In school, conversation on subjects not belonging to the business of the school was prohibited, and the offender was fined if he persevered in it, after the president had rung his bell twice. Swearing, profane language, and offences
against good manners were also fined.

After a brief dip in students, by 1673, the academy had 43 members. The academy was not successful in fostering students that ever matched in eminence those of the Academy's founders. This Sevillian Academy predated the Academia Real de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid

Madrid

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

.