French Academy in Rome acquires 276 comics for new collection

The French Academy in Rome – Villa Medici has acquired 276 French-language comics, establishing a dedicated collection that will feature nearly 200 authors of the ninth art. The acquisition coincides with the Year of the Comic, an initiative launched in 2020 by the French Ministry of Culture. The new volumes join the library's existing 37,300 books, reinforcing Villa Medici's position as a major research center. For the selection, the Academy consulted the city of Angoulême, renowned for its bande dessinée festival, and the Librairie française de Rome Stendhal for supply. The collection includes works by former Villa Medici fellows François Olislaeger, Lancelot Hamelin, Anne-Margot Ramstein, and Mathias Énard, as well as former residents Catherine Meurisse, Isabelle Boinot, Régis Lejonc, and Carole Chaix. The Academy aims to support authors and contribute to the diffusion of the ninth art in all its narrative and graphic richness. Founded in 1666 by Louis XIV, the French Academy in Rome has been housed at Villa Medici since 1803. It operates under the French Ministry of Culture, hosting high-level artists and creators in residence, producing a cultural program, and preserving its architectural and landscape heritage.