Academic Art
ACADEMIC STYLE
During the Renaissance, the first European fine art academies were established in Italy and would guide the style and standards of visual culture in the following centuries. Academic art became dominant across the continent in the 17th century, with artists coming together to offer instruction in this style of painting and sculpture.
The academic art period represented a significant change from the previous era when painters, sculptors and other artists were part of guilds and seen more as artisans than purveyors of culture. While patronage from the elite and the church remained pivotal, young artists were able to support themselves for the first time through academic exhibitions and an independent marketplace. The leading academies included the French Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture founded in Paris in 1648 (which became the Académie des Beaux-Arts after the French Revolution) and the London Royal Academy of Arts formed in 1768 under the inaugural leadership of painter Joshua Reynolds.
Academy students sketched drawings based on prints, sculptures and, finally, live models. Movements including neoclassicism and romanticism were particularly popular in these art schools and institutions where the influence of Raphael and Nicolas Poussin was prominent. Beaux Arts architecture and furniture design drew on these movements, too, and, as they also originated at the Académie des Beaux-Arts, the disciplines share common ground with academic painting and sculpture.
Although academic art was a major shift for artistic status when it began, by the middle of the 19th century it was viewed as stodgy and resistant to new ideas, with the subject matter of artists such as William-Adolphe Bouguereau and Jean-Léon Gérôme generally limited to allegorical or mythological themes. Impressionism, realism and the other movements that engaged with contemporary issues that followed were direct reactions to the academic tradition, although it continued to inform the avant-garde as artists like Gustav Klimt and Pablo Picasso started their practices as academic realists.
Find a collection of academic paintings, sculptures, prints and more art on 1stDibs.
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Style: Academic
Pratincole Antique Print
Located in Sydney, NSW
Chromolithograph of a Snow Bunting
Image Size 10.5cm x 17 cm
Category
1920s Academic Art
Materials
Lithograph
Reptiles
Located in Sydney, NSW
19th Century chromolithograph of reptiles
Category
19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Lithograph
The United States
Located in Sydney, NSW
19th Century chromolithograph, The United States (Vanity Fair), under the pseudonym of Ape
Category
19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Lithograph
May Day
Located in Sydney, NSW
19th Century hand coloured engraving
Category
19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Lithograph
19th Century French Realist Oil Profile Portrait of Lady Beautiful Quality
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
French realist artist of the 19th century
oil painting on board, unframed
board: 12.5 x 10.5 inches
provenance: private collection, France
condition: ...
Category
Mid-19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Oil
Lion
Located in Sydney, NSW
19th Century chromolithograph of a lion
Category
19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Lithograph
Orson Wells by Mario Napoli - Bronze 60x50x28 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Bronze sculpture by Mario Napoli, Swiss artist from XXth century. His works was sold 12 times in auctions since 2022. Work signed in the bronze. Edition 6/8
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Academic Art
Materials
Bronze
Untitled (Cafe Interior), Shimshon Holzman
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: Shimshon Holzman (1907-1986)
Title: Untitled (Cafe Interior)
Year: 1962
Medium: Watercolor and graphite on wove paper
Size: 27.75 x 19.75 inches
...
Category
1960s Academic Art
Materials
Graphite, Watercolor
Nuthatch Antique Print
Located in Sydney, NSW
Chromolithograph of Nuthatch Antique Print
Image Size 10.5cm x 17 cm
Category
1920s Academic Art
Materials
Lithograph
Nutcracker
Located in Sydney, NSW
Chromolithograph of Nutcracker Antique Print
Image Size 10.5cm x 17 cm
Category
1920s Academic Art
Materials
Lithograph
Giorgio De Chirico ( 1888 – 1978 ) – Autoritratto – hand-signed lithograph –1970
Located in Varese, IT
Original color lithograph , edited in 1970
limited edition
signed in pencil in lower right corner and numbered as: 72/110
paper size: 70 x 53,5 cm
framed size: 93,5 x 77 cm ( origina...
Category
1970s Academic Art
Materials
Lithograph, Paper
Talpa Comune
Located in Sydney, NSW
19th Century chromolithograph, Talpa Comune
Category
19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Lithograph
A Thames Barbell
Located in Sydney, NSW
19th Century chromolithograph, 1885 A Thames Barbell
Category
19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Lithograph
La Morgue
Located in Sydney, NSW
19th Century chromolithograph, 1822 Paris, La Morgue
Category
19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Lithograph
A. LEONARD - Flower Girl and her Dog
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
LEONARD Agathon (1841-1923)
Flower Girl and Her Dog
Oil on canvas signed low left
Old Frame regilded with Leaves
Dim canvas : 46 X 38 cm
Dim Frame : 5...
Category
Late 19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Oil
James Dean by Mario Napoli - Bronze 60x50x28 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Bronze sculpture by Mario Napoli, Swiss artist from XXth century. His works was sold 12 times in auctions since 2022. Work signed in the bronze. Edition 1/8
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Academic Art
Materials
Bronze
The Apparition - Large, Fine 1884 French Oil Painting - MAKE OFFER
Located in New Orleans, LA
A stunningly dramatic and well-rendered oil on canvas painted by French artist Antoine Marie Roucole in 1884. With the ornate antique gilt plaster frame, and with its size, it has t...
Category
1880s Academic Art
Materials
Oil
Luke
Located in MADRID, ES
In this portrait of a young man I wanted to show feelings of boredom and frustration held in check. Created with pastel pencils on recycled kraft paper.
Category
2010s Academic Art
Materials
Pastel
Luisina
Located in MADRID, ES
The curved figure and shadow created an unusual composition in this drawing, inspired by model Luisina. Created with pastel pencils on recycled kraft paper.
Category
2010s Academic Art
Materials
Pastel
Olga
Located in MADRID, ES
I wanted to capture the fierce gaze of the young woman in this portrait. Created with colour pencil on recycled kraft paper.
Category
2010s Academic Art
Materials
Color Pencil
Harriet
Located in MADRID, ES
I wanted to capture the fierce gaze of the young woman in this portrait. Created with colour pencil on recycled kraft paper.
Category
2010s Academic Art
Materials
Color Pencil
Fairest Rose - French Academic Nude Oil Painting by Delphin Enjolras
Located in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Signed nude in interior oil on canvas circa 1900 by French academic painter Delphin Enjolras. The piece depicts a red-haired nude resting on a bed in a lush boudoir with a sheer scar...
Category
Early 20th Century Academic Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
French official Navy painter BOURGAIN Late 19th Street view Cairo Egypt 1880s
Located in PARIS, FR
Gustave BOURGAIN Paris, 1856 - Paris, 1921 Oil on paper 33 x 24 cm (44 x 35cm with frame) Signed above right "G. Bourgain" Excellent condition
Gustave studied with Jean-Léon Gérôme ...
Category
1880s Academic Art
Materials
Oil
You're My Angel
Located in Seoul, KR
Furry friends always stay around us and bring joy and happiness.
A Young Lee uses powder pigments and Jangji (Korean Paper) that maximize the depiction of soft fur and a warm feelin...
Category
2010s Academic Art
Materials
Pigment, Mulberry Paper
“Sailing along the Coast”
Located in Southampton, NY
Very well executed original watercolor and gouache marine painting on archival paper by the well known American artist, Edmund Darch Lewis. Signed lower left and dated 1899. Conditio...
Category
1890s Academic Art
Materials
Watercolor, Gouache, Archival Paper
One Day In The Spring
Located in Seoul, KR
Furry friends always stay around us and bring joy and happiness.
A Young Lee uses powder pigments and Jangji (Korean Paper) that maximize the depiction of soft fur and a warm feeling...
Category
2010s Academic Art
Materials
Pigment, Mulberry Paper
Petite fille et sa poupée
Located in Washington, DC
Charming example of nineteenth-century genre painting depicting a young girl, her doll, and sewing.
Category
Late 19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Nice To Meet You
Located in Seoul, KR
Furry friends always stay around us and bring joy and happiness.
A Young Lee uses powder pigments and Jangji (Korean Paper) that maximize the depiction of soft fur and a warm feelin...
Category
2010s Academic Art
Materials
Found Objects, Pigment, Mulberry Paper
French Contemporary Art by Pascal Plazanet - Provencale No. 12
Located in Paris, IDF
Rapidography & acrylic on paper
Pascal Plazanet is a French artist born in 1963 who lives and works in Paris, France. For more 30 years, he constantly uses rapidograph pens in his artworks on paper or onto canvas. The rapidograph is a special pen with a capillary tubular tip in which flows a black pigment, an ancient drawing...
Category
1990s Academic Art
Materials
Paper, Acrylic
Woman portrait by Ilse Voigt - Oil on canvas 96x76 cm
By Ilse Voigt
Located in Geneva, CH
Oil on canvas with wooden frame. Total size with frame is 88x109 cm
Ilse VOIGT is an artist born in 1905 and died in 1997. His works have been sold at public auction 24 times, mostl...
Category
1940s Academic Art
Materials
Oil
Chrysanthemums Blooming on a Terrace
Located in Washington, DC
Large oil painting of chrysanthemums by one of the most well-known 19th-century French flower painters.
Signed and dated lower right
Category
Early 1900s Academic Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
PLAUZEAU Painting Oil canvas French Academic Portrait of boy Early 20th century
Located in PARIS, FR
Alfred PLAUZEAU Avanton-Paché (Vienna), 1875 - Hendaye, 1918 Oil on oil 61 x 38 cm (75.5 x 52.5 cm with frame) Signed lower right "A. Plauzeau" Good condition (sevreal restoration, w...
Category
Early 20th Century Academic Art
Materials
Oil
“Tsingtao, China 1912”
Located in Southampton, NY
Original watercolor and gouache on paper of a Tsingtao, China street scene in 1912 executed by the American illustrator, William Henry Drake. Copyrighted and signed and dated 1912 lower left. Condition is good. Recently professionally matted. Unframed. Overall mat size is 16 by 12 inches. Provenance: A Long Island, New York estate.
William Henry Drake
Born: 1856 New York
Died: 1926 Los Angeles
Nationality: American
Education: Académie Julian, Art Students League of New York
Known for: Painting, illustration
Awards: National Academy
Biography:
Drake studied at the Académie Julian in Paris, with Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant and Henri Lucien Doucet.
Back from Europe, he studied at the Cincinnati School of Design, and would often go to the zoo, where he could draw the animal...
Category
1910s Academic Art
Materials
Paper, Watercolor, Gouache
A pair of early 20th Century drawings of Neo-Classical hero by Hildegard Miller
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Hildegard Miller (British, 19th / 20th Century)
Studies of a Neo-Classical Hero
Signed ‘HILDEGARD BMB MILLER’ (lower right)
Crayon and light chalk
15.3/4 x 11.5/8 in. (40 x 29.7 cm.)...
Category
20th Century Academic Art
Materials
Paper, Chalk, Crayon
Peonies in a Blue Vase
Located in Washington, DC
One of three still-life paintings by the French flower painter Germain-Theodore Ribot.
Category
Late 19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
“Bank Notes”
Located in Southampton, NY
James Gillray (13 August 1756 – 1 June 1815) was a British caricaturist and printmaker famous for his etched political and social satires, mainly published between 1792 and 1810. Many of his works are held at the National Portrait Gallery in London.
Description:
Pitt (left) as a bank-clerk, very thin and much caricatured, a pen thrust through his wig, stands behind an L-shaped counter offering a handful of bank-notes to John Bull. In his right hand is a scoop with which he sweeps up notes from the counter. John is a yokel no longer bewildered. He stands stolidly, holding out his left hand for the notes, his right hand in his coat pocket. Fox (right) wears a high cocked hat...
Category
1790s Academic Art
Materials
Etching, Archival Paper
“Seaside Picnic”
Located in Southampton, NY
Original oil on canvas painting of a bucolic seaside picnic with a mother and her young children. Signed by the artist, F. G. Grust lower left. Condition is very good. The painting is housed in a period style gold leaf frame in fine condition. Overall framed measurements are 31.5 by 41.75 inches. Provenance: A California estate.
F. G. Grust was a Dutch painter born in 1889 who was best known for his domestic interior and exterior scenes of a mother with her young children. He is the son of artist Theordor Grust (1859 - 1909), who also painted Dutch genre...
Category
1920s Academic Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Formal Portrait of a Chinese Man in Traditional Dress
Located in Miami, FL
Dressed in traditional clothing, a handsome Chinese man is depicted as he sits resolutely with one hand on his leg and the other holding a baton. Female Artist Joyce Ballantyne...
Category
1940s Academic Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Feeding the Young
By Edmund Adler
Located in Washington, DC
A rural interior scene by Austrian artist Edmund Adler. The scene is typical of Adler's paintings of Austrian culture and rural life. It is full of gemütlichkeit.
Category
1930s Academic Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Italian beginning 19th oil canvas oval Mythological Bacchus and Apollon child
Located in PARIS, FR
Italian school from the beginning of the 19th century Oil on canvas (2) 99 x 65 cm (103 x 78 cm with the frame) Old frames with gadroons and palmette decoration Excellent condition
...
Category
Early 19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Oil
'The Old Oak Tree, Bushey School of Art, British
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Signed lower right, 'Laurence Bell' (British, died 1916) and painted circa 1910.
Bell studied at the Bushey School of Art in Hertfordshire in England. His preferred subject was land...
Category
1890s Academic Art
Materials
Paper, Gouache
“On Alert”
Located in Southampton, NY
Original pen and India ink drawing on heavy card stock of French soldiers on horseback by the well known French military artist, Edouard Detaille. Signed lower left and dated 1882. ...
Category
1880s Academic Art
Materials
Ink, Archival Paper, Pen
Architecture Sketches Study Drawing, Romane Church in France by Maurice Lambert
Located in Atlanta, GA
This is an oversized astonishing architectural study for the restoration of a church in a Paris suburb.
These sketches of the St Pierre church in Avon, Seine et Marne Departement, nearby Paris are for the restoration of the front porch. The drawing is made with watercolor, ink, and sepia pencil.
On the lower center bottom, you have the drawing of the porch itself, on the left side a close-up of the underside of the framework, and on the right side the same framework views from above. The top left corner shows a quoted plan of the porch.
There is a handwritten dedication on the lower right-hand corner that reads: To my old friend and pal. A warm memory of school. Sign Maurice Lambert.
The study is ornate with a classic wood frame with glass protection.
Good condition, with minor wear on the frame throughout.
Please check the last three pictures for the views of the original building.
Measurements:
With frame: 40.94 in wide (104 cm) x 27.56 in high (70 cm).
View: 38.98 in wide (99 cm) x 25.59 in high (65 cm).
Note:
Listed as a Historic Monument in 1840, the Saint-Pierre d'Avon church (77) was built in the 12th century, its bell tower in the 13th century, and the choir, and the portal in the 16th century. The charming and original awning of the porch under which Madame de Maintenon...
Category
Late 19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Paper, Pencil, Ink, Watercolor
Wheels of Industry Past and Present, Golden Age of Illustration - Standard Oil
Located in Miami, FL
This Golden Age of Illustration painting juxtaposes modern and ancient industrial practices. Giant eclectic generators from the current ti...
Category
Mid-20th Century Academic Art
Materials
Gouache, Board
Standing ballerina
Located in Zofingen, AG
Sculpture from the Ballet series. The series is dedicated to classical ballet and includes over 30 sculptur...
Category
Early 2000s Academic Art
Materials
Metal, Bronze
Good News by Andrea Landini
Located in New Orleans, LA
Andrea Landini
1847-1935 Italian
Good News
Signed “A. Landini” (lower left)
Oil on canvas
A cardinal grins while contemplating the contents of a letter i...
Category
20th Century Academic Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Bror Kronstrand, Portrait Of Brita Söderberg, Oil Painting
Located in Cheltenham, GB
This charming portrait by Bror Kronstrand (1875-1950) depicts Brita Söderberg (nee Browall) wearing a light blue blouse with a white hat, ribbon and flower. She was 20 at the time.
...
Category
Early 20th Century Academic Art
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Innamorati
By Emilio Greco
Located in Ljubljana, SI
Innamorati (eng. Lovers). Original drypoint, 1982. Edition of 90 signed and numbered impressions on Arches paper.
Emilio Greco is one of the greatest sculptors, engraver and medalist of modern time. He is best known for his monumental bronze sculptures of the human figure. The sculptures and figures in graphics, primarily female nudes and portraits, tended to be refined, with elongated forms in the Italian...
Category
1980s Academic Art
Materials
Drypoint
“Return from the Field”
Located in Southampton, NY
Oil on canvas backed onto wooden board of a worker with a scythe returning home from a day of labor. In a picturesque Swiss village. The painting is attributed to the hand of Karl Adolph Weber, the Swiss artist. Signed “K. Weber” lower right. Circa 1935. The painting is a contemporary wood frame in a mahogany finish. Overall framed measurements are 19 by 15.25 inches. Provenance: A Sarasota, Florida collector.
Karl Adolph Weber was a Swiss artist born in 1899 and died in 1978 known for his rural landscapes and figurative paintings of Switzerland...
Category
1930s Academic Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil, Board
Onward - The Norman Court by Montague Dawson
Located in New Orleans, LA
Montague Dawson
1890-1973 British
Onward - The Norman Court
Signed “Montague Dawson” (lower left)
Oil on canvas
The dynamism of the seas and the might of the clipper ships that brave their waters are captured with great accuracy and attention to detail in this monumental work by Montague Dawson. Here, the artist brings vividly to life the historic clipper ship Norman Court as it battles the waves on the open sea. Dawson, arguably the most important maritime painter of his generation, possessed an incomparable talent for rendering ships at sea with unparalleled energy and vitality. The speed and grace of these historic ships is perfectly realized in the present work, enhanced by Dawson's mastery over composition and the large scale of the painting.
Built and launched in 1869 by A. & J. Inglis of Glasgow, Norman Court was a composite clipper ship that traveled between the United Kingdom and East Asia under the command of Andrew Shewan and his son, also named Andrew Shewan. While returning from Java to Glasgow carrying sugar, Norman Court's career was cut short in March of 1883 when a powerful gale caused the ship to be wrecked on the rocks of Cymyran Bay, between the villages of Rhoscolyn and Rhosneigr in Wales. Dawson's immersive composition captures the ship at full sail and the height of her glory, battling the white-capped waves on a brilliant day at sea.
The son of a keen yachtsman and grandson of marine painter Henry Dawson, Montague Dawson spent much of his childhood on the Southampton Water, where he was able to indulge his interest in the study of ships. Naturally gifted at drawing and painting, the self-taught Dawson became a member of an art studio group in Bedford Row...
Category
Early 20th Century Academic Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
“Returning Home”
By Hermanus Jan Hendrik Rijkelijkhuysen
Located in Southampton, NY
Original etching on Ingres laid paper (watermarked, see last photograph) attributed to the hand of the well known Dutch artist, Hermanus Jan Hendrik Rijkelijkhuysen. No visible signature. Sheet size 9.25 by 12 inches. Sight size 7 by 9 inches. Under glass. Circa 1875. Condition is excellent. Professionally matted and framed in a walnut colored frame with gold leaf edge. Overall framed measurements are 12.75 by 14.5 inches. Gallery label verso. Provenance: A Sarasota, Florida collector.
Biography:
Hermanus Jan Hendrik Rijkelijkhuysen (1813-1883) was a landscape painter and etcher. Rijkelijkhuysen spent most of his life working in the vicinity of his birthplace Utrecht. Inspired by the polders on the one hand and the Utrechtse Heuvelrug on the other, he mainly painted and etched water...
Category
1870s Academic Art
Materials
Laid Paper, Etching
View of Venice
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
AUGUSTE BOUVARD 1882-1956
Pseudo : Mard ALDINE
View of Venice with characters
Oil on canvas signed low right "Aldine"
Framed by Gault (Paris Fbg St-Honoré)
Dim canvas : 50 X 65 cm
D...
Category
1930s Academic Art
Materials
Oil
Original Marines World War 1 poster. E-E-E-YAH-YIP Go over with U. S. Marines
Located in Spokane, WA
Original World War One: Go Over With U.S. Marines. E-E-E-YAH-YIP. This charging leather neck holds his Springfield high. The cropped design was influenced by candid photography, ...
Category
1910s Academic Art
Materials
Lithograph
'Erika in Gesture II, ' by James Cobb, Drawing
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
This framed 21" x 19" academic drawing by artist James Cobb, 'Erika in Gesture II,' captures a female model in a standing pose. Facing away from the viewer...
Category
2010s Academic Art
Materials
Conté, Graphite
“British Pub”
Located in Southampton, NY
Original watercolor with graphite tracings of interior crowded pub scene by the British artist, George Anderson Short. Signed lower left and date...
Category
1930s Academic Art
Materials
Watercolor, Archival Paper, Graphite
British early 20th Century pastel drawing of Puck, Midsommers Night Dream
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Herbert James Draper (British, 1863-1920)
Puck
Pastel
Inscribed ”PUCK” (middle left) and further inscribed and signed `Study for Puck/ Herbert Dra...
Category
20th Century Academic Art
Materials
Pastel
Auf dem Lötschpass (1919) by Albert Nyfeler - Watercolor on paper 26x36 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Watercolor on art paper
framed and signed
Total size with frame: 52x40 cm
Albert Nyfeler (September 26, 1883 in Lünisberg, † June 14, 1969 in Burgdo...
Category
1910s Academic Art
Materials
Watercolor
“The Fisherman’s Cottage”
Located in Southampton, NY
Original watercolor on archival paper of a classic fisherman’s cottage on the water with a dory nearby.. Signed lower left and dated 1923. Condition is very good. The artwork is ho...
Category
1920s Academic Art
Materials
Watercolor, Archival Paper
Academic art for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Academic art available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add art created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of purple, blue, orange, pink and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Karen Darbinyan, Owen Jones, Paul Jones b.1921, and Mark Beard. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Oil Paint and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Academic art, so small editions measuring 1.5 inches across are also available. Prices for art made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $11 and tops out at $700,000, while the average work sells for $1,444.