Beginning as a guild in Europe, educational institutions played a crucial role in the Middle Ages. While the elimination of feudalism, and industrial revolution after the establishment of the central authority system was making a comprehensive change across Europe, the enlargement of trade caused the emergence of giant cities.The proliferation of information brought about the complexity of the professions, and the concept of division of labor emerged. As the education did not meet the changing social needs, long-term and fundamental reforms were made in the field of education. While the guilds completed their missions, the academies began to rise and spread. However, was the art education able to take its share from it while these developments providing a future for most sciences? What was the role of the academies in art education? Areas based particularly on handcrafts were found to be simple and excluded from the academies. Despite these negativities, by combining more complex and diverse fields with their theoretical and practical training Academie Royale d'Architecture, Academie des Beaux-Arts Academies founded in 1671 as a royal academy, became an example for the design schools established after it when compared to the guilds. Even though these schools are disconnected with practical schools, and criticized for the implementation of rigorous educational programs that prevent creativity, their contribution to the art education has been great.

Key Words: Academy, Guild, Education of Art