Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts (ARBA) in Brussels is an art school, founded in 1711.The faculty and alumni of ARBA include some of the most famous names in Belgian painting, sculpture, and architecture: James Ensor, Rene Magritte, and Paul Delvaux. Painter Vincent van Gogh studied here, briefly, beginning in late 1880, to improve his grasp of anatomy, composition, and perspective. Peyo, creator of The Smurfs, also trained here.Originally housed in a single room in the city hall, in 1876 the school moved to a former convent and orphanage in the Rue du Midi, rehabilitated by the city architect Pierre-Victor Jamaer and where the school still operates.