The Accademia delle Arti del Disegno is an academy of artists in Florence, in Italy. It was founded on 13 January 1563 by Cosimo I de' Medici, under the influence of Giorgio Vasari. It was initially known as the Accademia e Compagnia delle Arti del Disegno and consisted of two parts: the company was a kind of guild for all working artists, while the academy was for more eminent artistic figures of the Medici court, and supervised artistic production in the Duchy of Florence.