The French Artistic Mission in Brazil (Portuguese: Missão Artística Francesa) was a group of French artists and architects that came to Rio de Janeiro, then the capital city of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves, in March 1816, under the auspices of the royal court of Portugal, which was exiled in Brazil since 1808 due the invasion of the country by Napoleon Bonaparte. The Mission, led by Joachim Lebreton, had the mission of establishing the Escola Real de Ciências, Artes e Ofícios (Royal School of Sciences, Arts and Crafts), which later became the Escola Nacional de Belas Artes (National School of Fine Arts).