One of the first cultural events to open the summer season, the festival is held every year at the château and in the town of Fontainebleau, on the first weekend in June.

Conferences, round tables, film screenings, exhibitions, book and art magazine fairs, student and professional meetings, tours, children's workshops, concerts, etc., the festival is made up of nearly 300 events showcasing the richness of the visual arts from all periods. For three days, specialists, students and enthusiasts meet in the exceptional setting of the Château de Fontainebleau for a moment of sharing around the latest research in art history.

Each edition is structured around a guest country and a theme, inspiring international scientific and cultural exchanges between researchers, artists, curators, filmmakers, publishers and art world actors. Envisaged as a unique opportunity to build bridges between France and the guest country, the festival endeavours to offer a very broad panorama of the arts and culture of this country from which many speakers and artists come. This year, the guest country is Belgium and the theme developed will be the climate.

Free and open to all, the art history festival is also an event for the general public thanks to a programme that is both demanding and accessible. Every year, this unique event brings together more than 300 guests and thousands of festival-goers eager to share their passion or to discover the richness and dynamism of art history. The Art History Festival is an event of the Ministry of Culture, implemented by the National Institute of Art History and the Château de Fontainebleau.