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
Le pont de Saint Gérmain de Couilly (sur le Grand Morin)
Located in Washington, DC
Exhibited:
Salon, Société des Artistes Français, Paris, 1879 (no. 647)
Category
1870s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel
Children's Book Cover - Mid-Century Blond Girl - Female Illustrator
Located in Miami, FL
Pioneering Female Illustrator Barbara Briggs Bradley was an in-demand illustrator in the 1950s. Merrill Publishers of their famous children's books hired Barbara Briggs Bradley to d...
Category
1950s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Mixed Media, Gouache, Pencil
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
Lion
Located in Paris, FR
MONTBARD
(Active XIX-XXth c.)
"The Lion"
Oil on canvas
Painting: 78 x 62 cm
Framed: 93 x 78 cm
Category
1880s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Young Beauty
Located in Washington, DC
An Orientalist figurative or genre painting by Conrad Kiesel.
Category
Mid-19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel
19th C. German painting of figures at a waterfall in the manner of Friedrich
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
A very romantic and detailed painting of figures enjoying the views of a waterfall in summertime, Europe
Circle of Caspar David Friedrich (Germ...
Category
19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Paper, Oil
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
Cleopatra Queen of Egypt 17' century Painting Oil on Canvas
Located in Rome, IT
Amazing painting of Cleopatra oil on canvas with a gilt wood frame.
Attributed to Giuseppe Diamantini (Fossombrone 1621-Venice 1705)
The dramatic subject of the painting depicts th...
Category
Late 17th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Sweet Roses
Located in Washington, DC
Signed and titled lower left
Category
1870s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
The Treasured Volume
Located in Washington, DC
Signed and dated '1879' lower right
Exhibited:
Royal Society of British Artists, London, 1880
Category
1870s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Summer
Located in Washington, DC
Exhibited:
Royal Academy, London, 1880, no. 355 (as Summer)
Category
1880s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
“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
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
Gondolier (Figurative Painting of Man in Venice by Mark Beard, Bruce Sargeant)
By Mark Beard
Located in Hudson, NY
Academic style figurative oil painting of a muscular male gondolier with Venice's St. Mark's Campanile in the background
"Gondolier" painted by Mark Beard as Bruce Sargeant (pseudony...
Category
2010s 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
Girl with Bouquet
Located in Washington, DC
Monogrammed lower right
Category
Mid-19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Sexy Woman in a Swamp Storm - Pulp Magazine, Hispanic Artist, Mid Century
Located in Miami, FL
Rafael Maria de Soto y Hernandez was born February 18, 1904 in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. It's high drama in the swamp. Woman in the Swamp is a masterfully executed example of Pulp Art and showcases Rafael DeSoto's full command of academic painting.
DeSoto did pulp covers up until the industry's demise in the 1950s for such magazines as Adventure, Argosy, Black Mask, Captain Zero, Crack Detective, Fantastic Novels, 15-Story Detective, Fifteen Western Tales, New Detective, Smashing Detective, and Walt Coburn's Western Magazine. He also painted many covers and interior story illustrations for men's adventure magazines, such as Action For Men, Adventure, Battle Cry, For Men Only...
Category
1950s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Board, 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
A Sideways Glance
Located in Washington, DC
Signed with monogram lower right
Category
Late 19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Study for Roses Du Matin
Located in Pasadena, CA
Provenance
Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist.
Dimensions
Framed: 13.5" x 15.5" x 2.5"; Unframed: 7.875" x 10"
Exhibited
Artist's Choice, American Legacy Fine Arts, P...
Category
2010s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
Teaching him a New Trick
Located in Washington, DC
19th Century Dutch
Category
1890s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Nude Woman
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Beautiful female nude in profile. European, ca. 1920-30. Oil on canvas, 31.5 x 35.75 inches; 35.5 x 39.75 inches framed. Sign indistinctly upper right.
A few areas of paint loss (v...
Category
Early 20th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
ALLEGORICAL SCENE- Eugenio De Blasi - Italian- Oil on Canvas Painting
Located in Napoli, IT
Allegorical Scene - Oil on canvas cm.120x90, Eugenio De Blasi, Italy, 2005.
This is his reinterpretation of a greatest old master painting "Marquise de Seignelay e Two of Her Children "by Pierre Mignard.
Pierre Mignard (1612-95) was president of the Académie, the ruling institution of French classicism...
Category
Early 2000s 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
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
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
Portrait of an Elegant Young Woman in Warm Grays and Soft Ochers
By Leon Kroll
Located in Miami, FL
Leon Kroll was above all an academician. To him "abstract art was merely the beginning of a picture. Structurally, "Portrait of a Young Woman recalls some of the portraits from the ...
Category
1930s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Sailor with Rope (Figurative Painting of a Man by Mark Beard, Bruce Sargeant)
By Mark Beard
Located in Hudson, NY
Academic, nautical style figurative oil painting of a handsome sailor against an ocean landscape
"Sailor with Rope" painted by Mark Beard as Bruce Sargeant (pseudonym in homage to th...
Category
2010s 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
Ready to Play (Academic Figurative Painting of Male Athlete by Mark Beard)
By Mark Beard
Located in Hudson, NY
Academic style figurative oil painting of a handsome football player against a country landscape
'Ready to Play', Painted by Mark Beard as Bruce Sargeant (pseudonym in homage to the...
Category
2010s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
At the Camp (Academic Figurative Painting of Young Male Hunter by Mark Beard)
By Mark Beard
Located in Hudson, NY
Academic style figurative oil painting on canvas of a young man undressing in a rural camp setting with a mountain landscape in the distance
"At the Camp", Painted by Mark Beard as ...
Category
2010s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Yesterday's Love, Love can Be True. The Heart can Betray
Located in Miami, FL
Classic illustration for a romanace novel from the 1950's in England. Recently these charming works have been the source of interest and even parody. Unsigned, unframed. Vale Studi...
Category
1950s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Gouache, Pencil
“Misty Morning Gloucester”
Located in Southampton, NY
Oil on artist board painting of a misty morning in Gloucester Harbor by the Provincetown artist, Kay Kellogg. Signed lower left. Circa 1935. The painting d...
Category
1930s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Board
Children on the Beach Marine Landscape French Antique Oil Painting
Located in Norwich, GB
The setting is the French coast, on a tranquil summer's evening. Clouds are drawing in, the sky is turning dusky pink and purple, but there is still time left for play, for the children on the beach...
Category
Early 20th 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
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
Sophie Holten (1858-1930), the Parthenon Frieze, London 1901
Located in Greding, DE
Painting based on the Peplos scene (Block V, eastern Parthenon frieze, ca. 447-433 BC) by the Danish painter Sophie Holten (1858 Skuldelev - 1930 Rosk...
Category
Early 1900s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Cleopatra Queen of Egypt 17' century Painting Oil on Canvas
Located in Rome, IT
Amazing painting of Cleopatra oil on canvas with a gilt wood frame.
Attributed to Giuseppe Diamantini (Fossombrone 1621-Venice 1705)
The dramatic subject of the painting depicts th...
Category
Late 17th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
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
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
'Piano And Violin Recital', Paris Salon, Royal Academy, Still Life of Tulips
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Signed lower left, 'Alf. Broge' for Carl Harald Alfred Broge (Danish, 1870-1955) and dated '1918'.
Alfred Broge first studied with Helger Gronvold and, from 1889 to 1891, at Denmar...
Category
1910s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Boy in Suit: Academic Figurative Painting by Mark Beard aka. Bruce Sargeant
By Mark Beard
Located in Hudson, NY
Academic style figurative painting of two men in trousers and suits with naval flags by Mark Beard aka "Bruce Sargeant"
"Boy in Suit", painted in the late ...
Category
Early 2000s 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
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
Antoni Costa Woman. original figurative academician drawing painting
By A. Costa
Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL
woman. original figurative academician drawing painting.. frame
Barcelona, 1904 - Barcelona, 1965
It was formed in Buenos Aires, in the Circle of San Lucas of Barcelona and the FAD....
Category
1950s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Graphite, Paper
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
Indian Ritual Walking on Fire, Firewalking Ceremony, Mythology and Religion
By Robert Riggs
Located in Miami, FL
Narrative artist Robert Riggs captures a highly-charged scene of an Indian firewalking ceremony. Firewalking is part of a religious ritual and is associated with the mystical powers...
Category
1950s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Varnish, Pigment
Brothel, Groovy Harem with Courtesan, Concubine, Paramour, Playboy Magazine
Located in Miami, FL
George Hirsch - He gets his inspiration from the prototype of neo-classic painting for this groovy 1970s brothel. This is a complex figural work with m...
Category
1970s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Gouache
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
Portrait of Dorothy Thompson (The Wild Rose) - Female Artist
Located in Miami, FL
A charming portrait of a beautiful blue-eyed girl in a pink dress holding flowers in her hand. It's based on Renaissance portraits where the subject is pushed to the foreground and i...
Category
1920s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Father and children in front of TV - Mid-Century
Located in Miami, FL
John Falter arranges figures and faces in a way that rival the old masters in their compositional perfection. And he makes it look easy. The expressions are captured so the emotion...
Category
1950s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Old Time Football in the 1920s - Football 1920s - Classic Football
Located in Miami, FL
You Got to be a Football Hero to Get Along with a Beautiful Girl. Masterfully composed and dynamic illustration that show a player getting punched in the jaw. During this period, there were no face...
Category
1920s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
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
Frieze with Two Athletes on Bikes (Oil Painting by Mark Beard's Bruce Sargeant)
By Mark Beard
Located in Hudson, NY
Academic style figurative painting of four young athletes running and on bicycles
"Frieze with Two Men on Bikes", painted by Mark Beard as Bruce Sargeant (pseudonym in homage to the fashion photographer, Bruce Weber, and figurative painter, John Singer Sargeant)
Oil on canvas, signed upper right
35.5 x 60 inches, 40.5 x 65.5 inches in a black frame with wire backing
Excellent condition, ready to hang as is
This magnificent horizontal composition was painted by Mark Beard under his fictitious artistic persona, Bruce Sargeant. Painted in a modern Academic style, this dynamic portrayal of young, male athletes in motion is an exciting example of the artist's talent for painting human anatomy. Two men are mounted on bikes; one wears khaki shorts and a billowing, white oxford...
Category
2010s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Untitled 12, " Charcoal Drawing
Located in Denver, CO
Mark Bradley Schwartz's (US based) "Untitled 12" is an original, handmade charcoal drawing that depicts a woman in profile with her long dark hair draped over her right shoulder with...
Category
2010s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Paper, Charcoal
Tennis Whites & Wrestling Singlet (Figurative Oil of Athletes by Mark Beard)
By Mark Beard
Located in Hudson, NY
Academic style figurative oil painting of a young, female tennis player and young male athlete dressed in a wrestling singlet by Mark Beard (aka Bruc...
Category
Early 2000s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
“The Harem Girl”
By Konrad Filip
Located in Southampton, NY
Here for your consideration is an intriguing portrait of a young harem girl in costume by the German artist, Konrad Filip. Signed by the artist top right, Munich. Condition is very ...
Category
Early 1900s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Crossing", Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Elizabeth Zanzinger's (US based) "Crossing" is an oil painting that depicts an elderly man crossing the high water of a river with a young child on...
Category
2010s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Panel, 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.