Beschreibung:
The Fine Arts class of the Académie Royale de Belgique is celebrating its 150th anniversary. The Institut de France has just celebrated its bicentenary. This coincidence serves to remind us that the links between our institutions have been close, not only through the exchanges which link them, but through our associated membership of each other s institutions. Such events provide the occasion for us to ask ourselves about our role in today s world. Through our independence, through the skills which our companies bring together, and through our desire to be useful to society, we can and we must exercise our responsibilities. It is this sense of responsibility which has underlain the process of discussion which has accompanied the bicentenary of the Institut de France. The Académie des Beaux-Arts also has a part to play in this movement. It does this by continuing to uphold the artistic tradition, by encouraging and protecting the arts, by advising the public authorities, and by defending our heritage - both national and international - when it is threatened. Over and beyond these functions, the Académie s mission includes supporting the spiritual dimension of art, which our modern world of machines and profitabiblity has a tendency to forget.