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Academic Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

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
Untitled: Still Life with Cauliflower, Orange and Pepper
Located in New York, NY
Unidentified/ Unknown Artist, "Untitled: Still Life with Cauliflower, Orange and Pepper", Monogrammed Still Life Watercolor on Paper, 16 x 20, Late 20th Century Colors: Brown, Blue...
Category

Late 20th Century Academic Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

French Contemporary Art by Pascal Plazanet - Ansouis en Luberon
Located in Paris, IDF
Rapidography & oil onto canvas 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 tool...
Category

Early 2000s Academic Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Canvas, Oil

French Contemporary Art by Pascal Plazanet - Place des Vosges
Located in Paris, IDF
Rapidography & ink 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 Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink

French Contemporary Art by Pascal Plazanet - Provençale No. 20
Located in Paris, IDF
Rapidography & watercolor on canvas 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 Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Canvas, Watercolor

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Blue & Grey Green Plan: Abstract Geometric Framed Painting in Cool Toned Palette
Located in Hudson, NY
Abstract geometric painting with a cool toned palette of green, blue, and grey with accents of black and white against a sea foam green colored acrylic wash background "Blue and Grey Green Plan" made by Hudson Valley artists, Donise English, in 2022 Graphite, colored pencil, and acrylic painting on vellum 24 x 18 inches unframed, 31 x 25 x 1.5 with an 8-ply white mat, non-glare plexi, and simple black moulding Signed, verso Excellent condition and ready to hang This abstract geometric painting on vellum was made by Hudson Valley based artist, Donise English, in 2022. The composition begins with a blue green toned background of acrylic wash. A grid of box-like patterns in sky blue, green, grey, and black with white line work are stacked to create an irregular shape or an "imagined city grid", says the artist. The painting on vellum is complemented by a simple black frame with an 8-ply white mat, non-glare plexi, and wire backing. It's in excellent condition and ready to hang. 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Artist CV: EDUCATION Master of Fine Arts in Painting Bard College 1986 Bachelor of Science in Art History State University College at New Paltz 1977 Additional Study: New York Studio School (Drawing Marathons) Columbia University, School of Architecture Women’s Studio Workshop TEACHING Professor of Studio Art, Department of Art and Art History, Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY Coordinator, Interior Design Program, Florence, Italy campus 1992-present AWARDS NYFA Fellowship in Painting 2018 Invitational Award for Outstanding Contemporary Talent, University of Bridgeport, CT 2000 Purchase Prize, “11th National Juried Exhibition” College of Notre Dame of Maryland, Baltimore 1999 First Prize, “Women in the Visual Arts ‘95” Erector Square Gallery, New Haven, CT 1995 Joseph A. 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Category

2010s Academic Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

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Modern Green and Red-Toned Abstract Cubist Still Life of Coffee Pot and Grinder
Located in Houston, TX
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20th Century Academic Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

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21st Century and Contemporary Academic Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

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Spring Whispers
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Located in New York, NY
Vivian Springford Untitled (Rice Paper Mounting), 1963-65 Signed lower left Ink, watercolor and acrylic on rice paper laid to canvas 27 1/4 x 53 3/8 inches A contributor to Abstrac...
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1960s Academic Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

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Canvas, Ink, Watercolor, Rice Paper

Workstation 17 (Vividly Colorful, Gestural Abstract Painting on Canvas Paper)
Located in Hudson, NY
"Workstation 17", 2023 (Gestural Abstract Oil Painting on Canvas Paper) by Jenny Nelson 24 x 18 inches The abstract painter Jenny Nelson is a master at communicating story through...
Category

2010s Academic Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Academic abstract drawings and watercolors for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Academic abstract drawings and watercolors available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 20th Century, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Paper 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 abstract drawings and watercolors, so small editions measuring 20 inches across are also available. Prices for abstract drawings and watercolors 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 $400 and tops out at $400, while the average work sells for $400.

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