Academy of Painting (Santiago, Chile)

Academy of Painting (Spanish: Academia de Pintura), also known as the School of Fine Arts of Santiago (Spanish: Escuela de Bellas Artes de Santiago), was a Chilean art school, founded on March 17, 1849 in Santiago, Chile. Initially located in a building of the University of San Felipe, now the site of the Municipal Theater of Santiago, it underwent relocation in 1891 and adopted the name Escuela de Bellas Artes. In 1910, the institution merged with the Museo de Bellas Artes, effectively discontinuing its operations as a separate entity. In 1932, it merged with and is now known as the Department of Visual Arts within the Arts Faculty, University of Chile.

The academy trained several early Chilean artists, including figures later recognized as the “four great masters of Chilean painting,” as well as artists influenced by Pedro Lira and Antonio Smith, and those associated with the Generation of 1913. Its directors included Alejandro Ciccarelli, Ernesto Kirchbach, Juan Mochi, Cosme San Martín—the first Chilean to hold the position—and Virginio Arias.

Many of its students originated from regions outside Santiago, including Alfredo Valenzuela Puelma and Alfredo Helsby from Valparaíso, and Valenzuela Llanos from San Fernando.