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
Coastal, Impressionism, Original oil Painting, One of a Kind
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Artist: Ara H. Hakobyan
Work: Original Oil Painting, Handmade Artwork, One of a Kind.
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Year: 2024
Style: Impressionism
Title: Coastal
Size: 31.5" x 39.5" x 0.8''...
Category
2010s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Leaves II, Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Elizabeth Zanzinger's (US based) "Leaves II" is an oil painting that depicts yellow Fall leaves with a cream colored background
Elizabeth Zanzinger is an award-winning painter with an enthusiastic international following. She developed her artistic voice through her studies at the Aristides Atelier and Gage Academy of Fine Art in Seattle. Elizabeth finished her education with a fellowship award (Grand Prize, 2nd Annual Utrecht Art...
Category
2010s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
Portrait of a Redhead in Profile
By Leon Kroll
Located in Miami, FL
Beautifully rendered in Krolls signature academic style. Unframed - Signed lower right, unframed
Category
1930s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Wood, Oil
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
Magnolia Grandiflora, Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Elizabeth Zanzinger's (US based) "Magnolia Grandiflora" is an oil painting that depicts a nude figure in the foreground with a bright red backgroun...
Category
2010s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
Georgian Contemporary Art by Ramaz Chantladze - Untitled 12
Located in Paris, IDF
Oil on canvas
Ramaz Chantladze is a Georgian artist was born in 1960 who lives and works in Tbilisi, Georgia. He studied at Jacob Nikoladze School of Art. In 1979-1985 he studied at...
Category
2010s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Rowboat in a Summer Landscape" George Bacon Wood, Pleine Air Landscape
Located in New York, NY
George Bacon Wood
Rowboat in a Summer Landscape
Signed lower left
Oil on wood panel
6 1/4 x 8 inches
Born in Philadelphia, landscape painter George Bacon Wood, Jr., studied at the ...
Category
Late 19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel
Napoléon and his Marshals
Located in Paris, FR
Emile Chepfer,
1876-1944, French
Napoléon and his Marshals,
Signed lower left
Oil on board
Emile CHEPFER: french painter, he was born in Nancy in 1876...
Category
20th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Antoni Costa Woman. original figurative Academician drawing painting
By A. Costa
Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL
woman. original figurative academician drawing painting
Barcelona, 1904 - Barcelona, 1965
It was formed in Buenos Aires, in the Circle of San Lucas of Barcelona and the FAD.
He was ...
Category
1960s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Carbon Pencil
Party Skull #1, Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Elizabeth Zanzinger's (US based) "Party Skull #1" is an oil painting that depicts a human skull in profile with blow outs and party regalia on blue and purple background.
Elizabeth Zanzinger is an award-winning painter with an enthusiastic international following. She developed her artistic voice through her studies at the Aristides Atelier and Gage Academy of Fine Art in Seattle. Elizabeth finished her education with a fellowship award (Grand Prize, 2nd Annual Utrecht Art...
Category
2010s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
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
Gouache, Paper
Leaves I, Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Elizabeth Zanzinger's (US based) "Leaves I" is an oil painting that depicts yellow Fall leaves with a cream colored background
Elizabeth Zanzinger...
Category
2010s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
Antoni Costa 15 Woman original Figurative Academician drawing painting
By A. Costa
Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL
woman. original figurative academician drawing painting
Barcelona, 1904 - Barcelona, 1965
It was formed in Buenos Aires, in the Circle of San Lucas of Barcelona and the FAD.
He was ...
Category
1960s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Pencil
Women with Resting Minotaur
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Oil Painting of a women with a sleeping Minotaur.
Light neutral white painting by Cuban Artist Jesus Nordarse.
18 x 18 inches.
Category
2010s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Faistenau" oil painting of snow covered landscape Salzkammergut steeple
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
Plein-air landscape painting of Faistenau, in Austria. A snow covered foreground meets a structure filled horizon, a church tower reaches upward, dissecting the blue sky.
Frame opt...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
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 subje...
Category
Late 17th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
"Transmutations: A Study of Systems Substitution, Painting by Mary Fish
By Mary Fish
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Mary Fish
Title: Transmutations: A Study of Systems Substitution
Year: 1980
Medium: Ink and Tempera on Paper, signed
Size: 33.5 x 56 in. (85.09 x 142.24 cm)
Category
1980s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Ink, Tempera
“The Drunk ” 17th Century Dutch Oil Painting On Panel
Located in Jacksonville, FL
The Drunk" is an oil on panel painting created by Dutch school student. This artwork provides viewers with a captivating glimpse into the past, offering a detailed and vivid portraya...
Category
17th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
Love & the Jester - Oil Painting of Sacrifice
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Oil Painting of a Love and Sacrafice by Cuban Artist Jesus Nordarse.
Oil on Canvas. 18 x 18 inches.
THE MAN: Jesús Nodarse Valdés was born in Sagua la Grande, Cuba in 1973. He studi...
Category
2010s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Nude Women with Resting Minotaur - Neutral White Oil Canvas
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Oil Painting of a women with a sleeping Minotaur.
Light neutral white painting by Cuban Artist Jesus Nordarse.
Oil on Canvas - 18 x 18 inches.
Oil Painting of a Love and Sacrafice...
Category
2010s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
A Sylvan Toilette -- ca. 1898
Located in Mc Lean, VA
Exhibited:
Society of American Artists, New York, 1898
Intimate Revelations: The Art of Carroll Beckwith, Berry-Hill Galleries, New York, 1 December 1999-15 January 2000, no. 49
Li...
Category
1890s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Flowers
By Marius Vasselon
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
Wheels of Industry Past and Present, Golden Age of Illustration - Standard Oil
Located in Miami, FL
This Golden Age of Illustration painting juxtaposes modern and ancient industrial practices. Giant eclectic generators from the current ti...
Category
Mid-20th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Gouache, Board
At the Stream
By Philip Hermogenes Calderon R.A.
Located in Mc Lean, VA
Signed and dated '1864' lower left
Category
1860s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Mid-Century Americana "Good House Keeping Magazine", 1948
Located in Miami, FL
When the Wood Grows Dry "Good House Keeping Magazine" illustration
Surreal depiction of a young mid-century girls social life Good House Keeping Magazi...
Category
1940s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Gouache, Board
Girl with Bouquet
Located in Mc Lean, VA
Monogrammed lower right
Category
Mid-19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Consolation, Collier's magazine illustration
Located in Miami, FL
Signed upper left
Category
1940s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Gouache, Paper, Pencil
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
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
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
Prospector firing Rifle ( Happiness is a Warm Gun ) Gay Art
By Robert Riggs
Located in Miami, FL
Tempera mixed with gum arabic and alcohol on Renaissance Panel
Robert Riggs was a gay man. Being gay in American during the 1940's time was something not to flaunt in public. Rigg's had to communicate his underlying feelings in more symbolic ways.
Throughout Riggs oeuvre, one sees continuous references to strong hunked out manly men and vulnerable boys. It is a core element of is iconography and is described in a powerful graphic style.
In “Prospector firing Rifle” is a Dick Pic. Riggs is clearly making a sexual statement about the moment of climax. The long, straight rifle explodes and is captured at the peak moment of climax. Meanwhile, the bag two bags of gold clearly resemble the other part of the male anatomy. Riggs was a thoughtful and meticulous visual thinker and nothing in any of Riggs’s compositions were haphazardly placed. In tribute to the artist’s suppressed feelings, I have given this work a second title “Happiness is a Warm Gun...
Category
1940s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Tempera
Portrait of Theresa Rogers
By Leon Kroll
Located in Miami, FL
Portrait of Theresa Rogers
Housed in a period hand carved wood frame. Some scatter minor paint loss and stretcher marks otherwise presents very well
Signature: Signed lower right
T...
Category
1930s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
French Contemporary Art by Pascal Plazanet - Provencale No. 12
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...
Category
1990s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Paper, Acrylic
In the diner
Located in Roma, RM
Antonio Maria Fabrés y Costa (Barcelona 1854 - Rome 1938), In the Restaurant (1880)
Oil painting on panel 14 x 21 cm signed and dated on the right.
Category
Late 19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Board
Asian Love Story - The Good Earth - Golden Age of Illustration
Located in Miami, FL
Magazine Story Illustration most likely for Cosmopolitan or Woman's Home Companion.
Caption: "'I will not heed these old ones,' said the maid. 'Let us flee together somewhere and ...
Category
1920s Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Adhesive
The Letter By Georges Croegaert
Located in New Orleans, LA
Georges Croegaert
1848-1923 Belgian
The Letter
Signed "Georges Croegaert Paris" (lower right)
Oil on panel
A cardinal pauses while composing a letter in this oil on panel by Belg...
Category
Late 19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
The Flight of Sodom and Gomorrah - Entourage of Monsu-Desiderio
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Italian School 17th Century
Close to Monsu Desiderio
The Flight of Sodom and Gomorrah
Oil on canvas
Framed with Black wood and golden ornementation
Di...
Category
Mid-17th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
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 subje...
Category
Late 17th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
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
Oil, Canvas
The Twelve Princesses
Located in New Orleans, LA
The greatest triumph of the artist’s career, this extraordinary and monumental oil on canvas by Gustave-Max Stevens perfectly represents the highly detailed compositions and richly h...
Category
Late 19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, 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
Canvas, Oil
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
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
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
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
In the Boudoir
Located in Missouri, MO
Delphin Enjolras
"In the Boudoir"
Oil on Canvas
Signed Lower Left
Canvas: approx 29 x 22 inches
Framed: approx. 37 x 30 inches
Renowned as a portraitist of the upper echelons of s...
Category
Early 20th 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.