The promoters immediately got to work and still in January 1648 formulated statutes with 13 articles (approved in February and published on 9 March 1648), a key element of which was a public art school. There were 22 founder members who, in February 1648, elected 12 "anciens" (elders) who would be in charge of the academy in turn for a calendar month. These first "anciens" were the painters Charles Le Brun, Charles Errard, François Perrier, Juste d' Egmont, Michel I Corneille, Henri Beaubrun, Laurent de La Hyre, Sebastien Bourdon, Eustache Le Sueur and the sculptors Simon Guillain, Jacques Sarazin and Gerard van Opstal.