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.
$2,000
French Contemporary Art by Pascal Plazanet - Paris depuis l’Hotel de Ville
Located in Paris, IDF
Rapidography & acrylic 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 hi...
Canvas, Acrylic
French Contemporary Art by Pascal Plazanet - Barfleur
Located in Paris, IDF
Rapidography & Indian ink on canvas Pascal Plazanet is a French artist born in 1963 who lives and works in Paris, France. For more 30 years, he consta...
Canvas, India Ink
French Contemporary Art by Pascal Plazanet - Provencale No. 11
Located in Paris, IDF
Rapidography & acrylic on paper + white frame 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...
Paper, Acrylic
French Contemporary Art by Pascal Plazanet - Provencale No. 6
Located in Paris, IDF
Rapidography & acrylic on paper + white frame 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...
Paper, Acrylic
French Contemporary Art by Pascal Plazanet - Chateau de Foix
Located in Paris, IDF
Rapidography & ink on paper + white frame 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...
Paper, Ink
Price Upon Request
Rosetta
Located in New York, NY
Oil on canvas Signed This painting is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. “Tohu-bohu” is a series of paintings by French-American painter John Bailly that explores the o...
Canvas, Oil
Price Upon Request
Los Hermanos Islets
Located in New York, NY
Oil on canvas Signed This painting is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. “When two worlds collide, mayhem or genius can ensue. Consider the freestyle fellowship that ha...
Canvas, Oil
$790
H 40 in W 28 in
Hibiscus Garden, Vertical Modern Still Life in Pastel Tones of Vivid Flowers
Located in Barcelona, ES
"Hibiscus Garden I" is an abstract expressionist painting by Romina Milano where a dance of black gestures unfolds across colorful brushstrokes infused with raw emotion. Romina Mil...
Acrylic, Watercolor, India Ink, Paper
$1,404
H 20.87 in W 32.68 in D 1.19 in
Urban Abstraction (ripped off posters) Italian Expressionist Painting on Canvas
By Andrea Spinelli
Located in Firenze, IT
The present work of art titled "Urban Abstraction (ripped off posters)" is part of a series of paintings that the artist composed in the 1980s and 1990s inspired by the observation of the urban reality of those years. The artist take the cue from his walks in Florence, both in the center and in the suburbs, and by the observation of billboards and posters scattered throughout the city. The mass of information, colors, messages and words were carried on the canvas with acrylic colors, ideally reconstructing the tears and overlaps of all the information and advertising contained on these huge sheets of paper that invade our cities. The geometric lines are overlaid with jagged lines, overlaps and color dripping and also the choice in the color palette, with different shades of white, gray, rose, orange red and blue helps in rendering the result of the tears and ripped paper. The result is a beautiful multicolored modern abstract canvas, both aesthetically and ethically, with many rich layers of color, texture and expression in which the artist leaves his own message. The painting is housed in a simple modern white lacquer wood frame. Andrea Spinelli...
Canvas, Acrylic
$790
H 41.7 in W 28 in D 0.1 in
Impressionist Coastal View, Sunset Seascape Reflections, Gestual Brushstrokes
By Albert Ducet
Located in Barcelona, ES
In "Impressionist Coastal View" Ducet reconsiders impressionist landscape paintings through a contemporary and gestual lens. Natural elements are translated into simplified forms and...
Paper, Acrylic
$790
H 28 in W 28 in
Moon Phase Scheme on Black, Mauve and Coral Circles, Primary Geometry Astronomy
Located in Barcelona, ES
These series of paintings by Natalia Roman gather their inspiration from geometric, minimalist shapes and paintings from the beginning of Modernism, with a special emphasis on Art De...
Acrylic, Rag Paper
$950
H 28 in W 42 in
Marine Spectrum, Mixed Media Seascape, Art Brut Style on Paper, Light Tones
Located in Barcelona, ES
This series by Enric Servera explores the relationship of humans to salt and seawater. The intention of these works is to submerge us into the sea, a salty treasure that surrounds us...
Paper, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Watercolor
$650
H 28 in W 20 in D 0.1 in
Forest Evening, Gestual Impressionist Painting in Green and Violet on Paper
By Albert Ducet
Located in Barcelona, ES
In "Forest Evening" Ducet reconsiders impressionist landscape paintings through a contemporary and gestual lens. Natural elements are translated into simplified forms and energetic s...
Paper, Acrylic
$450
H 10.63 in W 8.67 in D 0.79 in
"The Way" (Black & White, Texture, Depth, Antique Linen, Neutral Beige, Nude)
Located in Paris, IDF
The canvas comes to life with a captivating yet understated painting, heavy on texture, using antique linen, crafted with a unique blend of dye, pigment, and acrylic. The artist's su...
Canvas, India Ink, Acrylic
$2,500
H 24 in W 29.5 in
"Arabic Calligraphy 7" Abstract Painting 24" x 29.5" inch by Mohamed Hassan
Located in Culver City, CA
"Arabic Calligraphy 7" Abstract Painting 24" x 29.5" inch by Mohamed Hassan Medium: ink on decorative paper Mohamed Hassan is a traditional Arabic calligraphist, he obtained his of...
Paper, Ink
$800
H 25.6 in W 40 in
Abstract Patterns of Fish in Pink and Green, Painting on Watercolor Paper 2024
Located in Barcelona, ES
This series by Enric Servera explores the relationship of humans to salt and seawater. The intention of these works is to submerge us into the sea, a salty treasure that surrounds us...
Acrylic, Watercolor, Rag Paper, Monoprint
Blue Canoe for Rosemary Lee
Located in Denver, CO
Jason Craighead (b.1971) is an abstract artist based in Raleigh, North Carolina. In his mixed-media works, drawing, painting, and writing fuse seamlessly together His surprising com...
Canvas, Charcoal, Oil Pastel, Oil, Graphite
$2,575
H 43.71 in W 30.32 in
Untitled - Contemporary Expressive Abstract Painting, Conceptual Art
By Urszula Wilk
Located in Salzburg, AT
The artwork is signed (see last photo) and will be shipped rolled in a tube. Urszula Wilk – artist statment: I have always been interested in the idea of infiniteness of a painting...
Paper, Ink, Watercolor
$650
H 18.5 in W 28.7 in
Marina Abismal, Mixed Media Painting, Blue Tones, Mediterranean Fish Patterns
Located in Barcelona, ES
This series by Enric Servera explores the relationship of humans to salt and seawater. The intention of these works is to submerge us into the sea, a sal...
Paper, Acrylic, Watercolor, Mixed Media
Sold
H 9.45 in W 13.78 in D 0.79 in
French Contemporary Art by Pascal Plazanet - Le Sacré Coeur de Montmartre
Located in Paris, IDF
Rapidography & acrylic 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...
Canvas, Acrylic
Sold
H 8.67 in W 11.82 in D 0.79 in
French Contemporary Art by Pascal Plazanet - Paris depuis l’Hotel de Ville
Located in Paris, IDF
Rapidography & acrylic 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...
Canvas, Acrylic
Experiment in Pure Painting #7
By Lee Wells
Located in New York, NY
Lee Wells (born 1971), offers a complex intermix of images, which engage issues of war, sexuality, freedom and liberation. Deeply rooted in the history of painting and dialogue of th...
Acrylic Polymer
Campos de Castilla
By Gloria Sáez
Located in New York, NY
Oil on canvas. White Floater Frame
Oil