Académie de la Grande Chaumière

What Académie de la Grande Chaumière does

Académie de la Grande Chaumière is a private, single-site art education institution in the Montparnasse district of Paris, operating continuously since its founding in 1904 by Swiss painter Martha Stettler. It offers a portfolio of in-person art instruction centered on life drawing, painting, sculpture, and modeling with live models, structured around three program formats: annual regular courses with instructors (2h30/week for 30 weeks/year across eight disciplines including drawing, painting, sculpture, modeling, portrait, morphology/anatomy, calligraphy, and plein-air), unscheduled drop-in "ateliers libres" with live models (eight sessions per week, no reservation required), and multi-day intensive "stages" including a 2026 Vosges residency. Supplementary offerings include remote Zoom-based life-drawing workshops (€15 per session) and a full-day portrait course (€70).

The institution's underlying "technology" is intentionally traditional: live-model practice under named instructors (Laurent Cattanéo, Vincent Leda, Yoshiko Yoshida, Michel d'Anastasio, Caroline Aycard, Mathieu Schoettl, Benoit Higel), with no proprietary digital platform, no app, and no AI tooling — a deliberate positioning as one of the last French venues offering continuous live-model practice since 1904. The academy serves approximately 8,000 individual participants annually across four personas (Beginners, Confirmed Amateurs, Professional Artists, and Children/Youth) and is associated with roughly 100 live models per year.

Revenue is generated through course fees, workshop attendance fees, and stage registrations, with pricing varying from €15 per remote session to undisclosed annual subscription rates and €70 for the full-day portrait offering. Activities are proposed by Académie Charpentier, under whose auspices the academy operates. The institution currently enrolls via direct website and email booking ([email protected], +33 1 43 26 13 72) and is actively searching for new Montparnasse premises ahead of the fall 2026 academic year, following a June 16, 2026 public information meeting on its future. Distribution is overwhelmingly in-person at the Paris location, with a limited remote channel developed during COVID-19 and an international clientele drawn from Asia and the United States.

Name

Académie de la Grande Chaumière

Legal name

Académie de la Grande Chaumière

Website

https://academiegrandechaumiere.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1904

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Académie de la Grande Chaumière is a 122-year-old private art school in Paris's Montparnasse district, offering annual courses, drop-in workshops, and intensive stages in drawing, painting, sculpture, and modeling from live models to approximately 8,000 individual participants per year.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Art Education

NAICS

Fine Arts Schools (61161)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Visual Arts (Drawing, Painting, Illustration) (EDAAAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Arts & Crafts Workshops (Painting, Pottery, Ceramics, Sculpture) (THAJAKAA), Visual Arts Instruction (Drawing, Painting, Sculpture) (EDAMAAAA), Arts Education & Community Arts Programs (BPAGAHAC)

Keywords

• Live model drawing
• Art school Paris
• Painting workshops
• Sculpture classes
• Fine arts education

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Regular Courses with Teachers: Annual subscription-based courses in drawing, painting, sculpture, and modeling. Format: 2h30/week, 30 weeks/year. Target audience: participants seeking long-term enrollment.
2. Free Workshops with Live Models: Drop-in sessions without prior registration. 8 sessions per week. Monday-Friday 14h30-17h00, Saturday 14h00-17h00. Revenue generated through per-session attendance fees.
3. Summer Intensives (Stages): Short-format intensive workshops during summer months. Format: 2 to 4 days. 10-13 participants per session. Topics include portrait, wax modeling, outdoor painting in Vosges.
4. Remote/Distance Workshops: Online live model drawing sessions via Zoom platform during COVID-19 and beyond. Fixed price per session.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Académie de la Grande Chaumière is a Parisian art school offering structured annual courses, free drop-in workshops, and intensive stages centered on drawing, painting, sculpture, and modeling from live models. Programs span eight disciplines (drawing, painting, sculpture, modeling, portrait, morphology, calligraphy) and are open to all skill levels from complete beginners to professional artists. Activities are proposed by Académie Charpentier and delivered in-person at the Montparnasse premises, with limited remote Zoom sessions available since the COVID-19 period.

Product overview

Académie de la Grande Chaumière is a single-location art school offering a unified portfolio of in-person art instruction centered on life drawing, painting, sculpture, and modeling with live models. The core offering comprises three program types: Regular Courses (structured year-round classes with teachers), Free Drop-in Workshops (unscheduled open sessions with live models), and Intensive Workshops (multi-day immersive programs). Supplementary offerings include Remote Online Workshops, Morphology Courses, Portrait Courses, Calligraphy Workshops, and Modeling Workshops. All programs are offered at the Paris Montparnasse location, operated by Académie Charpentier since 1904.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cours réguliers (Regular Courses) Year-round structured courses in drawing, painting, sculpture, and modeling taught by professional teachers. Format: 2h30 per week for 30 weeks per year, open to all skill levels and ages. Designed for participants seeking long-term, instructor-led enrollment.
• Ateliers libres (Free Drop-in Workshops) Unstructured open sessions with live models, no reservation required. Eight sessions per week, Monday-Friday 14h30-17h00 and Saturday 14h00-17h00. Designed for autonomous practitioners and confirmed amateurs who want flexible, drop-in access to live model work.
• Stages (Intensive Workshops) Immersive multi-day intensive workshops covering portrait in Paris, wax modeling, and four-day residential outdoor painting programs in the Vosges mountains. Format: 2 to 4 days per stage, 10 to 13 participants per session, for all levels. Designed for progression and concentrated development.
• Ateliers à distance (Remote Online Workshops) Online live model drawing sessions delivered via the Zoom platform with a live model. Pricing: €15 per session, with multi-session bundles (2 for €30, 3 for €45). Uniform rate for all audiences including students and under-18. Designed for international and remote participants.
• Cours de portrait (Portrait Courses) Portrait painting and drawing workshop taught by Laurent Cattanéo. Full-day 6-hour session with two different poses (morning and afternoon). Limited to 20 participants. Designed for artists seeking concentrated portrait instruction.
• Cours de morphologie (Morphology Courses)

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Académie CharpentiercoreOthersThe activities of the Grande Chaumière are proposed by Académie Charpentier. The academy operates within or in association with Académie Charpentier's facilities at 2 Rue Jules Chaplain, 75006 Paris.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Grand Central Atelier: US atelier specializing in drawing, painting, and sculpture from life with structured multi-week and intensive programs. Directly comparable in offering live-model-based figurative art instruction in a studio environment.
• New York Studio School: Independent NYC studio school emphasizing observational drawing and painting from life. Mirrors Grande Chaumière's atelier philosophy, small-scale intensive format, and historic legacy as an alternative to university art programs.
• Académie Charpentier: Parent/affiliated Paris art school that hosts and proposes Grande Chaumière's activities at the same Montparnasse address. Operates the same atelier-based visual arts curriculum in drawing, painting, and sculpture with live models.
• Florence Academy of Art: Classical realist atelier offering intensive drawing, painting, and sculpture programs built around live model practice. Comparable in its atelier-style instruction, international student draw, and heritage-anchored brand.
• The Art Students League of New York: Historic New York atelier offering drop-in life-drawing sessions with live models, structured classes, and intensive workshops. Closest direct analog in mission, format (drop-in + structured), and heritage positioning.
• The Royal Drawing School: London-based non-profit focused on drawing from life, offering structured and drop-in sessions. Comparable in heritage positioning, broad student demographic (beginners to professionals), and atelier pedagogy.
• Studio Incamminati: Philadelphia atelier offering structured programs in drawing, painting, and sculpture with a curriculum grounded in live model practice. Comparable in intensive workshop format and atelier-style pedagogy.

Broad incumbents

• School of the Art Institute of Chicago: Major US fine arts institution offering studio-based drawing, painting, and sculpture programs with a strong emphasis on observational practice. Comparable as a destination art school attracting international students with a legacy brand.
• The Slade School of Fine Art: Historic London fine art school within UCL offering drawing, painting, and sculpture programs. Comparable as a heritage-anchored, atelier-influenced institution teaching observational and figurative practice at scale.
• École des Beaux-Arts de Paris: France's flagship fine arts institution with much broader scope (architecture, multimedia, theory) and degree-granting authority. Anchors the same Paris art-education landscape and historical lineage (École de Paris) as Grande Chaumière.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Académie de la Grande Chaumière