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.
William Russell Flint mixed media, 'Ray mounted on Pegasus', British
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
William Russell Flint (British, 1880 – 1969) Ray mounted on Pegasus Mixed media Signed ‘W Russell Flint’ (lower right), further signed and titled on the reverse 10.1/2 x 14.1/2 in. (...
Mixed Media
Price Upon Request
Paris
Located in New York, NY
Mixed media on paper Signed This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. “When two worlds collide, mayhem or genius can ensue. Consider the freestyle fellowship t...
Mixed Media
Price Upon Request
Miami
Located in New York, NY
Mixed media on paper Signed This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. “When two worlds collide, mayhem or genius can ensue. Consider the freestyle fellowship t...
Mixed Media
$4,415
H 10.63 in W 9.85 in D 1.19 in
La Dame Étonnée Mixed Media Collage, Signed, Art Deco, 1950s Framed
By Jean Cocteau
Located in CANNES, FR
Jean Cocteau ( 1889 - 1963 ) " la Dame étonnée " . Mix Media découpage signed by Jean Cocteau . work : 10 x 10 cm Framed: 27 x 25 cm . Collage original , déc...
Mixed Media, Photographic Paper
untitled
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Pastel, colored pencil with collage elements Unsigned Condition: Repaired tear in the area of the moon, only visible from verso Pin holes in the corners and in the ...
Pastel, Mixed Media, Color Pencil
$4,299
H 15.36 in W 17.72 in D 1.19 in
Surrealist Collage by Max Bucaille, Mixed Media, Framed, 1938-39
By Max Bucaille
Located in CANNES, FR
Max Bucaille ( 1906 -1996 ) . French artist . Surrealist collage realized in 1938-1939 . 10 x 16 cm image 16 x 23 cm feuille 39 x 45 cm vintage liege ...
Mixed Media
$575
H 24 in W 18 in
50th anniversary commemorating the consolidation of the five Burroughs of New Yo
By Norbert Lenz
Located in Fairlawn, OH
From Lenz's House of Farnam "First Day" Cover Series Mixed media collage Signed in image lower left Label verso #174 A cachet is a printed design on an envelope that comm...
Mixed Media
Great Buffalo Medicine Man
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Great Buffalo Medicine Man Mixed media collage Signed in pencil lower right Title on reverse Sheet size: 47 x 34 inches Condition: Tear in paper along right edge Color fresh ...
Mixed Media
Title Unreadable “_______ _______ No. 102”
By Juan Velasquez Diaz
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Title Unreadable " _______ _______ No. 102" Mixed media Signed and dated lower right Manuscript notes on black paper backing Condition: Excellent Image size: 6 1/2 x 12 3/4 inches Bo...
Mixed Media
Taos Series
By Harry Nadler
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Taos Series Mixed media on handmade paper Signed and dated by the artist lower right Archival framing with Conversation Glass Frame size: 29 3/4 x 34 inches Image size: 19 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches Provenance: Peter Marciniak, New Hampshire Distinguished Midwest Private Collection Regarding the artist: Select Exhibition: 1991 Franz Bader Gallery, Washington, D.C. (solo) 1980 Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY 1974 Bertha Schaefer Gallery; New York, NY (solo) 1972 Childe Hassam Purchase Show, National Institute of the Arts and Letters 1971 "The Turkish Bath of Ingres,” Louvre Museum, Paris, France 1971 Guest Artist, Tamarind Institute; Albuquerque, NM 1970 “American Drawings of the Sixties,” New School Art Center; New York, NY 1966 Dorsky Gallery, New York, NY (solo) 1962 Dwan Gallery...
Mixed Media
Navajo Thunderbird Silversmith
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Navajo Thunderbird Silversmith Signed in ink, titled in pencil Dimensions: 42 1/4 x 23 inches Mixed media on paper Provenance: Acquired from the art...
Mixed Media
Ragtime Piano
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Ragtime Piano Collage, 1969 Signed and dated '69 lower right Address stamp verso Provenance: Acquired from the artist Joseph M. Erdelac, friend and patron of the artist Stephen Longs...
Mixed Media
Borrowed Landscapes Study No.167/ NY, NYC, - Park Skyline
By Nina Tichava
Located in Denver, CO
Nina Tichava's paintings are about relationships; she is interested in the interactions between materials and methods as well as the color and spatial relationships that naturally de...
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Postcard, Graphite, Tape
Untitled
By Peter Marks
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Untitled Abstraction Unsigned Mixed media, c. 2003-2004 Provenance: Estate of the artist Peter Marks (1935 -2010) Peter Marks was born in New York City on January 18, 1935. A life...
Mixed Media
untitled
By Peter Marks
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Untitled Collage made of foil, golf leaf and marbled book papers, c. 2004 Unsigned, from the Estate of the artist. Image size: 8 5/8 x 10 inches Sheet size: 14 x 17 inches Peter Marks (1935 -2010) Peter Marks was born in New York City on January 18, 1935. A lifetime New Yorker, Marks graduated from the High School of Music and Art in 1952 and Amherst College in 1956. After a brief stint as a graphic designer in publishing, Marks became a private art dealer and opened his gallery Peter Marks Works of Art, Inc. in 1960. During this time he specialized in the sale of Southeast Asian and Islamic antiquities and made many contributions to the field both as a dealer and an advocate of his profession. Above all, Marks was motivated by a strong desire to find great art and make it available to large audiences. After retiring from art dealing in 2002, Marks transformed his Manhattan gallery space into a studio where he drew prolifically and painted large non-objective canvasses. This time in his studio was a happy one for Marks, who viewed this period of his life not as retirement, but rather fulfillment, a fact that is confirmed by passionate artistic output in the years leading up to his passing in 2010. In 2012, Thomas French...
Mixed Media
Blood River, 1838
Located in New York, NY
Mixed media on paper Signed This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. “John Bailly examines the relationship of place and time in his many multi-layered compos...
Mixed Media