Academic Figurative Paintings
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
Period: 19th Century
Olivia Unveiling to Viola (from Twelfth Night)
Located in Washington, DC
Exhibited:
Birmingham Royal Society of Artists, 1879
“Autumn Exhibition of the Birmingham Royal Society of Artists.” The London Times, 25 August 1879. T...
Category
1870s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
On the shores of a lake in the Austrian Alps
Located in PARIS, FR
Josef THOMA
(Vienna, 1828 - Vienna, 1899)
On the shores of a lake in the Austrian Alps
Oil on canvas
Signed and dated lower right
53 x 80 cm
1877
Josef ...
Category
Late 19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
French 19th Century oil painting of The rescue of Deianara by Emile Menard
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Emile Rene Menard (French, 1862-1930)
L`enlevement de Dejanira (The rescue of Deianara)
Oil on canvas
Signed `E R Menard’ (lower left) and inscribed with t...
Category
19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
A Sideways Glance
Located in Washington, DC
Signed with monogram lower right
Category
Late 19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Girl with Bouquet
Located in Washington, DC
Monogrammed lower right
Category
Mid-19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Flower Gathering
Located in Washington, DC
Signed and dated '1873' lower left
Category
1870s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
At the Stream
By Philip Hermogenes Calderon R.A.
Located in Washington, DC
Signed and dated '1864' lower left
Category
1860s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
“Orientalist Markeplace”
Located in Southampton, NY
Circa 1865 marketplace painting by the American artist, George Washington Nicholson. Signed lower left. Oil paint on wooden panel. Condit...
Category
1860s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Board
Teaching him a New Trick
Located in Washington, DC
19th Century Dutch
Category
1890s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
The Musical Performance oil on panel by Antonio Ermolao Paoletti
Located in New York, NY
The Musical Performance by Antonio Ermolao Paoletti
An italian genre painting showcasing two boys playing a trumpet and a guitar for their sist...
Category
19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel, Board
Young girl from Tetouan, Morocco
Located in New Orleans, LA
Young girl from Tetouan, Morocco
Signed (center right)
Oil on canvas
In this important oil on canvas, French Orientalist painter Charles Landelle captures the engaging visage of a young Moroccan woman in a moment of tranquil contemplation. Seated on the floor of what is almost certainly an opulent riad, the young woman wears an intricately embroidered Moroccan kaftan and headdress. The sumptuous patterns on the floor and in the background lend an additional warmth to the strikingly vivid red hues which dominate the composition and are a hallmark of Landelle’s work.
The symbols behind the young woman may represent either the Jewish Star of David or the Islamic Seal...
Category
Late 19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
“Sunset on the River”
Located in Southampton, NY
Beautifully painted sunset on the river with a single figure in a punt and cattle crossing by the American artist, George Riecke. Most likely a New Orlea...
Category
1890s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
In the Bazaar II
Located in New York, NY
In the Bazaar II, 1834-1855, by Theodore Frere (1814-1888)
Oil on wood
7 x 5 inches unframed (17.78 x 12.7 cm)
10 ⅝ x 9 inches framed (26.9875 x 22.86 cm)
Signed on lower right
Desc...
Category
19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Mythological scene, study for the Prize of Rome 1864, French academism, Homer
Located in Norwich, GB
This rare mythological scene depicting the Greek author Homer on the island of Scyros. You will notice the Trojan War being fought in the background. Our painting, dating from 1864, is unsigned, but has a solid attribution to academic artist Henri-Léopold Lévy...
Category
Mid-19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Aurora in white toga smelling a flower. Goddess of Dawn Mythology scene
By Jean Louis Hamon
Located in Miami, FL
Jean Louis Hamon artfully presents the mythological subject: Aurora the Goddess of Dawn. She is dressed in a flowing toga, standing on a large leaf and smelling the sweetness of a flower in bloom. Surrounded by lush plants in an idyllic setting of pinks and blues, one would not think that this peaceful and beautiful work was painted in 1864 at the time of the American Civil War. Hamon meticulously renders the scene with the academic precision of Bouguereau. The closer you get, the more detail you discover. Two butterflies sit atop Aurora's head. Droplets of water gracefully roll down her hair.
There was a hand colored steel plate...
Category
1860s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Mother and Child
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Beautiful original painting by French artist, Alexandre de Valentini (1787-1887). Pencil and gouache on paper, 14 x 18.5 inches; 19 x 23.5 inches matted. Signed and dated with Paris...
Category
Mid-19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Pencil, Gouache
Dance of the Nymphs
Located in New Orleans, LA
This lyrical landscape entitled Dance of the Nymphs was composed by the French Barbizon painter Paul Désiré Trouillebert. A joyful scene of nymphs dancing the morning fog, the work closely resembles an important work by the great Camille Corot, which is now housed at the Musée d'Orsay (Paris). Renowned for his unique individuality that toed the line between the traditional and modern, Corot and his landscapes helped pave the way for an entire generation of Impressionists who followed him. Trouillebert perfectly captures the poetic atmosphere of Corot’s groundbreaking works, while also imbuing this scene with a freshness and character that is all his own.
Trouillebert's oil on canvas is exemplary of the tradition of historical painting. The work perfectly combines a realistic depiction of the natural world with a spirited romanticism as his idealized nymph figures frolic playfully beneath a crisp morning sky. As a whole, it is a lovely composition executed with a level of skill and artistry that proves Trouillebert's exceptional talent in the arts.
Born in Paris in 1831, Paul Désiré Trouillebert was a student of the academic painters Ernest Hébert...
Category
19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
In the Bazaar I
Located in New York, NY
In the Bazaar I, 1834-1855, by Theodore Frere (1814-1888)
Oil on wood
7 x 5 inches unframed (17.78 x 12.7 cm)
10 ⅝ x 9 inches framed (26.9875 x 22.86 cm)
Signed on lower right
Descr...
Category
19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
The Crossing
Located in New York, NY
The Crossing, 1855, by Theodore Frere (1814-1888)
Oil on wood panel
9 x 14 inches unframed (22.86 x 35.56 cm)
17 ¾ x 22 ½ inches framed (45.085 x 57.15 cm...
Category
19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Woman Reading by JOZEF ISRAËLS - Dutch painter, Hague School, portrait art
Located in London, GB
Woman Reading by JOZEF ISRAËLS (1824-1911)
Oil on Panel
21 x 12.5 cm (8 1/4 x 4 15/16 inches)
Signed lower right
Executed circa 1870
Artist biography
D...
Category
19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel
L'odalisque à l'éventail (The Odalisque with the Fan)
Located in New Orleans, LA
Léon François Comerre
1850-1916 French
L'odalisque à l'éventail
(The Odalisque with the Fan)
Signed "Léon Comerre" (upper left)
Oil on canvas
Combinin...
Category
Late 19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Departure of the Caravan
Located in New York, NY
Departure of the Caravan, 1834-1887, by Theodore Frere (1814-1888)
Oil on wood
10 x 16 inches unframed (25.4 x 40.64 cm)
18 ¾ x 24 ¾ inches framed (47.625 x 62.865 cm)
Signed on bott...
Category
19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Beautiful Woman, The Coy Look - French Painting
Located in Miami, FL
If Vogue magazine existed in the late 19th century, this sitter could be on the cover. The depth of her feminine beauty and sweetness is mesmerizing. She looks at you. You look ...
Category
1880s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Family scene, children dog and pup, French painting by Delacroix' prodigy friend
Located in Norwich, GB
A sweet and intimate family scene by the rarest of artists: French early 19th Century child prodigy Henri-Louis-Hippolyte Poterlet (1804-1835).
Poterlet was a close friend and confi...
Category
1820s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Rustic Apples and Bread Food Still Life French Salon Academic Antique Painting
Located in Norwich, GB
A remarkable work by Charles Nicolas Etienne Mayre, an academic painter born in Choisy le Roi near Paris in 1819. He studied with the masters Michel-Martin Drolling and Leon Cogniet...
Category
Mid-19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Beautiful Woman, The Coy Look
Located in Miami, FL
If Vogue magazine existed in the late 19th century, this sitter could be on the cover. The depth of her feminine beauty and sweetness is mesmerizing. She looks at you. You look ...
Category
1880s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
First Battle Between The puritans And the Native Americans, Oil on Canvas 1874
Located in Paris, FR
Our painting represents a military scene — an event during the war between European settlers and Native Americans.
Oil on canvas, signed and dated at the bottom right :
Imogene Robinson Morrel- PARIS 1874
American School XIXth century
Imogene Robinson was born in Attleboro, Massachusetts, at the beginning of the 19th century. She studied art at the age of 16 in Newark New Jersey, then in New York City. In 1856, Robinson went to Europe for the first time. She studied under Adolf Schroeder and Wilhelm Camphausen in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Then, Europe called to her again. She went with a friend, Elizabeth Gardner. In July 1864, they arrived in Paris and made a living copying great works from the Louvre and Luxemburg museums for American patrons. The two artists were in close contact with the colony of American artists in Paris, but they likewise befriended French painters Meissonnier and Bouguereau. In 1869, Imogene Robinson married Colonel Abraham Morrell. In 1871, Gardner moved into her last place, 73 rue des Petits Champs and became neighbors with Bouguereau. Several years later, in 1895, she married him.
As long as we can follow her official path to the Salons of 1868 and 1869, her entrée as the first woman at the Academy Jullian in 1873, we observe that Robinson Morrell did not participate in the Parisian art demonstrations. She studied portraiture and landscapes under François–Louis Français (1814-1879), and took certain courses taught by Thomas Couture (1815-1879), the last historical painter of the second half of the 19th century. Couture received many students, most notably Americans including Hunt and Longfellow. It was during this period that Imogene Robinson Morrell began her great historical compositions and painted our version of the First battle between the puritans...
Category
1870s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas
19th Century gouache of a visit to Pompei on the Grand Tour
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Neapolitan school (early 19th Century)
A visit to Pompei on the the Grand Tour
Gouache on paper
Inscribed ‘Porzione del quartiere a Pompei’ and ‘In Nap...
Category
19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Paper, Gouache
“French Cavaliers”
Located in Southampton, NY
Oil on wooden panel painting of horse riding French cavaliers in battle. Signed lower left. Not dated. Original period gilded frame in fine condition. Painting has been recently professionally cleaned. Painting and frame circa 1875. Overall framed measurements are 16 by 14 inches. Condition of the painting is very good. Provenance: Saint Petersburg, Florida estate.
Charles Michel Guilbert D'anelle was a pupil of Horace Vernet ( known for his military paintings...
Category
1870s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Board
Attributed to Rochegrosse, French 19th Century figurative oil painting
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Attributed to Georges Antoine Rochegrosse (French, 1859 – 1938)
A majestic reception on the silk road
Oil on canvas
17.3/4 x 31.1/2 in. (45.2 x 80 cm.)
Abandoned by his father as a c...
Category
19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
“Bavarian Flower Girls”
Located in Southampton, NY
Here for your consideration is a vibrant portrait of a pair of Bavarian flower girls in traditional dress. The painting is unlined and has recently been cleaned. Circa 1875. The pain...
Category
1870s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
19th Century Painting Puppet theatre
By Paul Louis Martin des Amoignes
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
MARTIN DES AMOIGNES, Paul Louis (1850-1925)
Puppet theatre on the village square
Oil on canvas signed low right
Dated 14th of July 1884
Old original f...
Category
1880s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
A Pair of Wall Decoration 'En Grisaille' by Dufour, Paris, France, 19th Century
Located in Rome, IT
A fine Pair papiers peints 'En Grisaille' from the psyche´ series manufactured by Dufour, Paris, after designs by Merry-Joseph Blondel and Louis Lafitte.
-'Psyche´ about to stab the ...
Category
1820s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas
Flowers
Located in Paris, FR
Marius Vasselon,
1841-1924
"Bouquet de Fleurs dans un Vase "
Oil on canvas,
Signed lower left
Canvas: 29 1/2" high x 23 5/8" wide
Frame: 36 1/4" high x 29 7/8" wide
Category
19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Lady in Middle-Age Suits, Pastel 19th Century
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
FANTIN LATOUR Theodore (1805 – 1875)
« Young Lady dressed with middle-age suit »
Pastel on card signed low right
Old original frame gilded with leaves
Dim pastel : 80 X 63 cm
Dim fr...
Category
Mid-19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Pastel
A Pair of Wall Decoration 'En Grisaille' by Dufour, Paris, France, 19th Century
Located in Rome, IT
A fine Pair papiers peints 'En Grisaille' from the psyche´ series manufactured by Dufour, Paris, after designs by Merry-Joseph Blondel and Louis Lafitte.
-'Psyche´ about to stab the ...
Category
1820s Academic Figurative Paintings
Greek / Roman Naturalistic Allegory Painting
Located in Houston, TX
Stormy landscape scene in which a Cupid-like figure seen in the clouds appearing to have shot a number of wounded and dying men in the foreground. The men have a number of women and ...
Category
19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
"The Battle of Ptolemais, 1191"
By Adam Springfield
Located in Southampton, NY
This large oil on canvas painting by Adam Springfield depicts the Battle of Ptolemais which took place in 1191. It is signed lower left and dated 1877. The verso of the painting contains the title of the painting. It has it's original period gold leaf frame and measures 44 x 63.75 inches. The siege of Ptolemais is unique in the history of the Crusades since the Frankish besiegers were themselves besieged, by Saladin's troops. It was not captured until July 1191 when the forces of the Third Crusade, led by King Richard I of England and King Philip II of France, came to King Guy's aid. Acre then served as the de facto capital of the remnant Kingdom of Jerusalem...
Category
Late 19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Figures at a mill
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
English school, 18th Century
Figures at a mill
Gouache on paper
4.5/8 x 7.1/2 in. (11.8 x 19 cm.)
Category
19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Paper, Gouache
'A Summer Repast at the House of Lucullus', large oil painting by Boulanger
By Gustave Clarence Rodolphe Boulanger
Located in London, GB
This beautiful painting was created in 1877 by the well-known French painter, Gustave Clarence Rodolphe Boulanger. Boulanger often produced work which combined the classical and Orie...
Category
Late 19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Paintings 19th Century Flowers Still life
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
GODCHAUX Emile (1860)
Big Compositions of Flowers in Pair
Oil on canvas signed low right
Frames gilded with gold leaves
Dim canvas (each) : 90 X 129 cm
Dim frame (each) : 118 x 159 cm
Certificate of authenticity
GODCHAUX Emile (1860 - nc)
French School - XIXth century
Born in 1860
Painter of genre scenes, landscapes, waterscapes, marines, flowers, still lives. He sold his paintings on the public place, and sometimes in Lotteries. He is related to Alfred Godchaux...
Category
Late 19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Petite Mendiante By William-Adolphe Bouguereau
Located in New Orleans, LA
William Bouguereau
French 1825-1905
Petite Mendiante
(Little Beggar)
Signed “W. Bouguereau 1880” (center left)
Oil on canvas
William Bouguereau's faithful images of young women a...
Category
19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Au Bord Du Ruisseau By William-Adolphe Bouguereau
Located in New Orleans, LA
William-Adolphe Bouguereau
1825-1905 French
Au Bord du Ruisseau
Signed and dated “W-Bouguereau-1888” (upper left)
Oil on Canvas
“Bouguereau’s paintings of children allowed for th...
Category
19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Spinning Yarn in the Harem by Rudolf Ernst
By Rudolf Ernst
Located in New Orleans, LA
Rudolf Ernst
1854-1932 Austrian
Spinning Yarn
Signed and dated “R. Ernst 86” (lower right)
Oil on panel
Austro-French Orientalist painter Rudolf Ernst showcases his aptitude for the genre in this skillfully executed oil on panel. In it, two exotically dressed...
Category
19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
La Danse pyrrhique (Pyrrhic Dance)
Located in New Orleans, LA
This painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme entitled La Danse pyrrhique is among the most fascinating compositions ever composed by the Academic master’s hand. Gérôme’s iconic scenes of the East captivated a generation, and this work showcases all of the artist’s unparalleled talents. Set in the Ptolemaic period of Ancient Egypt, its depiction of the ritual Pyrrhic dance is vivid and striking. Beautifully painted and rich with detail, it represents the best of Gérôme’s famed Orientalist scenes.
In La Danse pyrrhique, Gérôme gives us a dramatic rendering of this ancient war dance. Greek in origin, it was performed by costumed dancers armed with swords who completed a series of movements set to music pantomiming combat. Homer wrote that Achilles performed this dance in a show of respect and grief at the funeral of his friend, Patroclus. When Julius Caesar introduced it to the Roman Games, its popularity spread across the Roman Empire to include Egypt, where Gérôme’s composition is set.
Gérôme visited Egypt for the first time in 1856, and he returned throughout the late 19th century when this work was created. Gérôme’s first-hand familiarity with this setting is evident in this piece, and his visual narrative is unlike any other. His paintings combine the rationalist style of historical paintings and the theatrical...
Category
19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Baigneuses (Bathers)
By Louis-Joseph Courtat
Located in New Orleans, LA
French Academic painter Louis-Joseph Courtat displays his mastery of composition and the female form in this entrancing oil on canvas. Entitled Baigneuses, the work was painted for and exhibited at the 1885 Paris Salon, the foremost exhibition of painters in the Western world. Large in size, it captures two nude bathers within a tranquil beach scene. While the artist's skill for landscape painting is on display, it is his command of form, light and color that bring this canvas to life. The artist specialized in paintings that glorified the nude, and his skill is clear in the luminosity of his models' skin and the classical beauty of their form and proportions.
With their soft, undulating curves and flowing hair, Courtat's models reflect the two key influences on the young painter, that of the great Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres as well as his teacher Alexandre Cabanel. Like these two greats who came before him, Courtat similarly follows in the artistic tradition of the female nude that is traceable to classical antiquity and the Italian Renaissance.
Born in Paris in 1847, Courtat studied at the famed École des Beaux-Arts under Cabanel. He was one of the Academic master's first students at the school, where he began to teach in 1864. Displaying considerable skill at an early age, Courtat won the Prix de Rome around 1870, and subsequently studied in Rome for a number of years. He returned to Paris in 1873 to make his debut at the Salon, where he was met with immediate success, receiving a third class medal. He received medals again in 1874 and 1875, a remarkable achievement for a painter of his age. In addition to the monumental nudes...
Category
19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Academic figurative paintings for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Academic figurative paintings 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 figurative paintings created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, red, purple and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Mark Beard, Kyna de Schouël, Elizabeth Zanzinger, and Delphin Enjolras. 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 figurative paintings, so small editions measuring 4.93 inches across are also available. Prices for figurative paintings 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 $280 and tops out at $595,000, while the average work sells for $7,158.