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.
$16,250Sale Price|35% Off
'Peau d’Âne' Large 19th-Century French Allegorical Pastoral Painting
Located in New York, NY
Pastoral Scene with Young Woman and Turkeys Oil on canvas 118.5 × 153.5 cm Original period giltwood frame Signed low-right This large-scale and finely executed oil on canvas by Erne...
Oil, Canvas
$497Sale Price|20% Off
Original French Anatomical Pencil Study of a Horse in Profile
By Robert Ladou
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: Original French Anatomical Pencil Study of a Horse in Profile Artist: Robert Ladou (French, 1929-2014) Medium: Pencil on Paper Size: 14.25 (Height) x 19.25 (Width) Signed: No ...
Pencil
Fun Day, Coastal, Beach, Figurative, 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: 2017 Style: Impressionism Title: Fun Day Size: 16" x 20" x 0.8'' inch...
Canvas, Oil
$554Sale Price|20% Off
Original French Anatomical Study of Horse's Head and Neck
By Robert Ladou
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: Original French Anatomical Study of Horse's Head and Neck Artist: Robert Ladou (French, 1929-2014) Medium: Pen and Pencil on card Size: 19.75 (Height) x 12.75 (Width) Signed: ...
Pen, Pencil
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...
Canvas, Oil
A Little Prayer
Located in Naples, Florida
Signed lower left “Francis Day” This painting titled A Little Prayer is an oil on canvas work measuring 30 × 36 inches. The stretcher verso bears a pencil inscription re...
Canvas, Oil
” La Maschera ” 19th Century Antique Realistic Oil Painting On Canvas
Located in Jacksonville, FL
“Mom and Her Kids,” an exquisite oil painting on canvas by Gaetano Chierici, also known as La Maschera, captures a timeless domestic scene with remarkable attention to detail and emo...
Oil
A Pompeian Lady
Located in New Orleans, LA
John William Godward 1861-1922 British A Pompeian Lady Signed and dated "J.W. Godward 1904" (lower right, partially covered by frame) Oil on canvas One of the last and greatest Victorian neoclassical painters, John William Godward is celebrated for his flawlessly executed images of graceful women posed in idealized ancient settings. In this work, entitled A Pompeian Lady, a classical beauty is caught idling in a moment of quiet, solitary reflection. Godward's elegant subjects are depicted with a degree of technical mastery that remains unsurpassed, and the work's dramatic palette, luxurious fabrics and classical vision are all characteristics of his unique take on the neoclassical style. Godward was unmatched in terms of his technical skill and attention to detail. A master of contrasting textures, he paints a diaphanous gown draping against the model’s smooth, milky white skin, which sits against the painstakingly rendered individual hairs of a tiger’s pel. Scintillating color permeates the canvas as well, energizing the otherwise static scene. Each element is given careful attention, and the overall effect is one of both immaculate technique and sensual tactility. Along with his contemporary and mentor, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Godward set the tone for the Victorian neoclassicist movement. He built his career upon creating images of idealized feminine beauty infused with a Greco-Roman-inspired style. Though greatly influenced by Alma-Tadema, Godward distinguished himself through his predilection for the solitary female figure. His fame rose dramatically in the first few years of the 20th century, when the present work was completed, due to the burgeoning strength of the British Empire and the Victorian society’s preoccupation with ancient Rome. To many of the newly affluent, Roman society was, as Iain Gale writes, “a flawless mirror of their own immaculate world.” The sensuality and mystery of Godward’s maidens, combined with his impressive antique backdrops...
Canvas, Oil
$553Sale Price|20% Off
Original French Anatomical Study of Horse's Head
By Robert Ladou
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: Original French Anatomical Study of Horse's Head Artist: Robert Ladou (French, 1929-2014) Medium: Oil pastel on paper Size: 11.75 (Height) x 8.25 (Width) Signed: No Condition:...
Pencil, Oil Pastel
Portrait Beautiful Woman SALOMAN Gouache Danish Swedish painter 19th
By Geskel Saloman
Located in PARIS, FR
Geskel SALOMAN Tonder (Denmark) 1821 – Bastad (Sweden), 1902 Portrait of a woman with a book Gouache on bone 8.8 x 8.5 cm (16.5 x 15.5 cm with the frame) Signed lower right “G. Salom...
Gouache
Flowers Still-Life
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
BIVA Paul (1851 – 1900) Flowers Still-Life Oil on canvas signed low right Old frame gilded with leaves Dim canvas : 90 X 117 cm - Dim frame : 117 X 145 cm BIVA Paul (1851 – 1900) Fr...
Oil
Orientalist View With Characters - Gouache 1894
By Paul Pascal
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
PASCAL Paul (1832-1903) Orientalist View With Characters Gouache on card signed low right and dated 1894 New golden frame Dim gouache : 42 X 58 cm Dim Frame : 61 X 78 cm PASCAL Paul...
Gouache
Stacks of Wheat, Landscape, Original oil Painting, One of a Kind
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Artist: Karen Darbinyan Work: Original Oil Painting, Handmade Artwork, One of a Kind Medium: Oil on Linen, Year: 2023 Style: Impressionism Title: Stacks of Wheat Size: 16" x 21.5" x ...
Canvas, Oil
$884Sale Price|20% Off
Anatomy Drawing of a Horse - Original French Artwork Equestrian Anatomy Study
By Robert Ladou
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Anatomy of a Horse by Robert Ladou (French 1929-2014) original drawing stuck on card in black folder/ thick paper, unframed drawing: 12 x 17.75 ...
Charcoal, Crayon, Watercolor, Pencil, Color Pencil
$553Sale Price|20% Off
Original French Anatomical Pencil Study Exploring Horse's Expressions
By Robert Ladou
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: Original French Anatomical Pencil Study Exploring Horse's Expressions Artist: Robert Ladou (French, 1929-2014) Medium: Pencil on Paper Size: 19.75 (Height) x 13.75 (Width) Sig...
Pencil
Ponte Rialto in Venice Landscape Painting Oil on Canvas with Frame
Located in Rome, IT
Early 20' Century large cityscapes of Venice oil on canvas with a finely carved gilt wood frame. Rialto Bridge painting is beautiful reminder of Venice, Italy's iconic bridge. The...
Oil
$950
Roses, Still Life flowers 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: 2023 Style: Impressionism Title: Roses Size: 19.5" x 23.5" x 0.8'' in...
Canvas, Oil
Saint Sophia, City, Original oil Painting, One of a Kind
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Artist: Karen Darbinyan Work: Original Oil Painting, Handmade Artwork, One of a Kind Medium: Oil on Linen, Year: 2023 Style: Impressionism Title: Saint Sophia Size: 12" x 17" x 0.8''...
Canvas, Oil
$2,000
'A Day in the Country' Dutch Scene, Oil on Linen Painting by Alyona Kostina
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
This warm, realistic painting depicting a day exploring the Dutch countryside features a golden field with a stream bisecting the landscape with windmills dotting the landscape. The...
Linen, Oil
$525Sale Price|20% Off
Original French Anatomical Pencil Study of Horse's Head
By Robert Ladou
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: Original French Anatomical Pencil Study of Horse's Head Artist: Robert Ladou (French, 1929-2014) Medium: Pencil on Paper Size: Excluding Mount: 8.75 (Height) x 10.75 (Width), ...
Pencil
$22,812
Large British turn of the 20th Century oil painting of boys at the rockpool
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
A stunning, large scale, oil painting by British artist Harry Watson of bathers at a rockpool. HARRY WATSON RWS ROI (BRITISH, 1871-1936) BATHERS AT A ROCKPOOL oil on canvas signed ...
Canvas, Oil
Painting After 1890 Newsboy Tobacco “The Last Look” Tobacco Advertising Card
Located in Houston, TX
Late 19th century painting done after an 1890 Newsboy Plug Tobacco advertising card titled "The Last Look." At the time, a customer could trade in 10 paper tags that came with the to...
Oil
Cows, Landscape, Original oil Painting, One of a Kind
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Landscape, Original oil Painting, One of a Kind Artist: Karen Darbinyan Work: Original Oil Painting, Handmade Artwork, One of a Kind Medium: Oil on Linen, Year: 2023 Style: Impressio...
Canvas, Oil
Evening View, Coastal Original oil Painting, One of a Kind
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Artist: Karen Darbinyan Work: Original Oil Painting, Handmade Artwork, One of a Kind Medium: Oil on Linen, Year: 2023 Style: Impressionism Title: Evening View, Size: 11" x 14" x 0.8...
Oil, Canvas
$7,417
Painting 19th century French School Genre Scene Interior Portrait
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
French School 19th century Close to François Xavier FABRE (1766-1837) The Princess and The Chaperone Oil on canvas One can read on the reverse "Fabre Fecit" and the name and address of the canvas dealer shop...
Oil
A Fine French 19th Century Oil on Board "A Standing Beauty with Spring Roses"
Located in LA, CA
A very fine French 19th century oil on board titled "A Standing Beauty with Spring Roses" by Charles Baptiste Schreiber (French, 1845-1903)...
Wood, Oil
Close to Shore, Seascape, Original oil Painting, One of a Kind
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Artist: Karen Darbinyan Work: Original Oil Painting, Handmade Artwork, One of a Kind Medium: Oil on Linen, Year: 2023 Style: Impressionism Title: Close to Shore, Size: 11" x 14" x 0...
Oil, Canvas
$5,200Sale Price|20% Off
“Gypsy Girl”
By Leon Herbo
Located in Southampton, NY
Original oil on mahogany wooden panel of a young gypsy woman in a colorful headdress and costume. Signed middle right and dated 1885, Brussels. Original inscription paper label vers...
Oil, Board
Marine with Characters
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Maurice BAUDIN (19th Century) Marine "L'Escaut near Anvers" (Belgium) Oil on canvas signed and dated 1893 low left Old frame gilded with leaves Dim canvas : 38 X 70 cm - Dim frame : ...
Oil
Roses, Flowers, 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: 2020 Style: Impressionism Title: Roses Size: 19.5" x 27.5" x 0.8'' in...
Canvas, Oil
The first time model: the enigmatic young bohemian girl in traditional dress
Located in Norwich, GB
I love the feisty attitude of the girl depicted! With her hand on her hip, she seems to be saying to the artist: "Whatya looking at anyway?" She looks like she has a good head on he...
Canvas, Oil
Neptune and Triton En Grisaille Oil Painting by Philip Melville Courtney
Located in Palm Beach, FL
This en grisaille oil on canvas by American artist Philip Melville Courtney presents a masterful reinterpretation of Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s celebrated marble Neptune and Triton (1622...
Oil
Cupid and Aphrodite: Late 19th Century Porcelain Painting
Located in Milwaukee, WI
This painting on porcelain depicts the Greek legends Aphrodite and Cupid in radiant light. In this playful scene, Aphrodite holds Cupid's bow just out of his reach. This painting is ...
Porcelain, Oil
$720
Morning Breeze, coastal, Impressionism, Original oil Painting, One of a Kind
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Artist: Karen Darbinyan Work: Original Oil Painting, Handmade Artwork, One of a Kind Medium: Oil on Linen, Year: 2023 Style: Impressionism Title: Morning Breeze, Size: 9" x 13.5" x ...
Canvas, Oil
Park, Summer landscape, Original oil Painting, One of a Kind
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Artist: Karen Darbinyan Work: Original Oil Painting, Handmade Artwork, One of a Kind Medium: Oil on Linen, Year: 2023 Style: Impressionism Title: Park Size: 12" x 17" x 0.8'' inch, (...
Canvas, Oil
Study for Roses Du Matin
Located in Pasadena, CA
Provenance Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist. Signed "AG" on lower left corner Dimensions Framed: 13.5" x 15.5" x 2.5"; Unframed: 7.875" x 10" Exhibited Artist's Ch...
Oil, Panel
"Woman with Violets" Margaret Longstreith Baugh, Early Female American Artist
Located in New York, NY
Margaret Longstreith Baugh Woman with Violets, circa 1901 Signed lower right Oil on canvas 26 3/4 x 13 3/4 inches Provenance Walker-Cunningham Fine Art, St. Louis, Missouri, 2007 Pr...
Canvas, Oil
"The Equestrian" Gene Pressler, Countryside Setting, American Society Portrait
By Gene Pressler
Located in New York, NY
Gene Pressler The Equestrian, circa 1925 Signed lower left Pastel on canvas 32 x 24 inches Gene Pressler was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1893 or 1894, and lived in New Jers...
Canvas, Pastel
Portrait of Lady
Located in London, GB
John Westbrooke Chandler 1763- 1807 Oil on canvas Image size: 30 x 25 inches (76 x 63.5 cm) Original gilt swept frame This portrait is marked by its loose brushwork, which creates a...
Canvas, Oil
Autumn Valley, Landscape, Original oil Painting, One of a Kind
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Artist: Karen Darbinyan Work: Original Oil Painting, Handmade Artwork, One of a Kind Medium: Oil on Linen, Year: 2023 Style: Impressionism Title: Autumn Valley Size: 15.5" x 22" x 0....
Oil, Canvas
$48,500
Bouquet of Flowers in the Countryside by Jean-Baptiste Robie
Located in New Orleans, LA
Jean-Baptiste Robie (1821-1910) Belgian Bouquet of Flowers in the Countryside Signed "J. Robie" (lower left) Oil on panel This extraordinary floral still life embodies the height...
Oil, Panel
Neoclassical Two Seated Women One Holding A Dragonfly
Located in Lake Worth Beach, FL
Two Seated Women One Holding A Dragonfly Unsigned, oil on wood panel 14"x10"5 antique frame 20x16.5 European School, possibly Italian early 19th Century painting of two seated women ...
Oil, Wood Panel
Landscape from French Provence, Painting 19th Century
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
PONSON Etienne Aimé (1850-1924) French Provence Mediterenean Landscape Oils on canvas in Pair signed low Old frames gilded with leaves Dim canvas (each...
Oil
Harbor, Seascape, Original oil Painting, One of a Kind
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Artist: Karen Darbinyan Work: Original Oil Painting, Handmade Artwork, One of a Kind Medium: Oil on Linen, Year: 2023 Style: Impressionism Subject: Harbor, Size: 8.5" x 12" x 0.8'' ...
Canvas, Oil
Winter Day in Old Yard, 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: 2019 Style: Impressionism Title: Winter Day in Old Yard Size: 18" x 21" x 0.8'' inch, (45x53x2cm), Unframed, Stretched on wooden bar, Ready to Hang, Artist Bio Ara H. Hakobyan is an Armenian artist and art critic, Doctor of Sciences (arts, 2017), professor (2018) and a member of Artist Union of the Republic of Armenia (1999). Ara H. Hakobyan was born in 1973 in Yerevan in the family of art historian Hravard Hakobyan. In 1997 Mr. Hakobyan graduated from the Yerevan State Academy of Arts, Department of Painting. During 1997-2000 Ara Hakobyan...
Canvas, Oil
Mother and Child - Classic Portrait
Located in Miami, FL
This warm portrait looks like it could have been painted by Corot. Francis Luis Mora paints in that tradition. It's a small painting that invites the viewer to look closer. The art...
Oil, Board
$1,200Sale Price|27% Off
“Red Poppies and Grapes”
Located in Southampton, NY
Here for your consideration is a circa 1920’s still life of red poppies and purple grapes. Oil on artist canvas board . Signed lower right but artis...
Canvas, Oil
$2,684Sale Price|20% Off
Portrait of man seated
Located in Genève, GE
This painting depicts a portrait of a man of great dignity, typical of the academic tradition of the 19th century. The artist has captured his model in a sober and solemn pose: seate...
Oil, Canvas
The Little Ballerina
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Alphonse PELLET (1853-1926) The Little Ballerina Oil on wood panel signed low right Old frame regilded with leaves Size panel : 30 X 43 cm - Size frame : 40 X 55 cm Alphonse PELLET...
Oil
$4,500
"Portrait of Fanny Adam" Mary Jane Peale, Mid-19th Century, Early Portrait
Located in New York, NY
Mary Jane Peale Portrait of Fanny Adam, 1857 A scanned photograph of the back of the canvas taken prior to relining shows the inscription "Fanny Adam / painted by / Mary J. Peale / P...
Canvas, Oil
$720Sale Price|20% Off
Mountain's view by M. Völlmy - Oil on wood 40x50 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Oil paint on wood with original frame. Total size with frame: 60x50x5 cm
Oil
$48,000
"A Surprising Visit" 19th Century Antique European Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in Jacksonville, FL
A Surprising Visit" by Eduardo León Garrido (Spanish, 1856-1949) invites viewers into a sumptuous journey through 19th-century European luxury. Eduardo León Garrido, a distinguished Spanish artist born in 1856 and leaving an artistic legacy until 1949, displayed a remarkable ability to capture the essence of his time through his brushstrokes. This antique masterpiece, rendered in oil on panel and measuring 22 1/2 x 29 3/4 inches, unveils a world of opulence within a Royal European...
Canvas, Oil
$960Sale Price|61% Off
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...
Gouache, Pencil
Frederick Goodall R.A Bedouins in the Desert Oil on Canvas Orientalist Painting
Located in Plainview, NY
Frederick Goodall R.A Bedouins in the Desert Oil on Canvas Orientalist Painting , unsigned This evocative Victorian Orientalist oil on canvas by Frederick Goodall R.A. (British, 18...
Oil
Seashore, Coastal, Original oil Painting on linen, Framed
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Artist: Karen Darbinyan Work: Original Oil Painting, Handmade Artwork, One of a Kind Medium: Oil on Linen, Year: 2021 Style: Impressionism Subject: Seashore, Size: 28.5" x 39.5" x 0...
Canvas, Oil
“Clipper Ship under Full Sail”
Located in Southampton, NY
Original oil on canvas painting of a clipper ship under full sail. Signed “T. Bailey” lower right. Condition is good. Original gold frame with wear consistent with age. Overall frame...
Canvas, Oil
Painting Portrait Young Italian Jewelry Belgian Academic Painter COLLIN 19th
Located in PARIS, FR
André COLLIN Spa, 1862 – Brussels, 1930 Portrait of a Young Italian Woman Oil on canvas 57.5 x 41 cm (64 x 47.5 cm with frame) Signed lower right “A. Collin” Titled upper right “REGI...
Oil
$575Sale Price|31% Off
“Clipper under Full Sail”
Located in Southampton, NY
Original oil on canvas painting of a three mast clipper under full sail. Signed by the artist lower right. Condition is very good to excellent. Mild stretch...
Canvas, Oil
Boulders
Located in Greenville, DE
Original landscape oil on canvas by American illustrator N.C. Wyeth. Painted in his hometown of Chadds Ford, PA c. 1911-12. The work is unsigned but is included in the artist's catal...
Canvas, Oil
French Contemporary Art by Franck Bailleul - Joli Moi de Mai
Located in Paris, IDF
Franck Bailleul is a French painter born in 1964 who lives & works in Abbeville, Normandy, France. He has exhibited nationally as well as in the United States and China. His works e...
Canvas, Oil