Academic Art
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.
Style: Academic
Color: Brown
"Abandoned House"
Located in Southampton, NY
Circa 1900
Signed lower right
Sight size 9.5 x 21 in.
Overall size matted with period frame 19.5 x 30.75 in.
Category
Early 1900s Academic Art
Materials
Watercolor, Paper
Painting 19th Century Flowers
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
TESSIER Louis Adolphe (1858-1915)Flowers
Oil on canvas signed low right and dated 1893
Old original frame gilded with leaves
Dim canvas : 53 X 67 cm
Dim frame : 78 X 91 cm
Certificat...
Category
Late 19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Oil
Paeonia polyanthos flore rubro. Peony
Located in Florham Park, NJ
BASIL BESLER (1561 – 1629).
Hortus Eystettensis.
Konrad Bauer. Altdorf, 1613, 1640, 1713 – 50.
Copper plate engravings with modern hand-color
374 pla...
Category
18th Century and Earlier Academic Art
Materials
Engraving
Female Nude in a Studio
By Bertalan Karlovszky
Located in Houston, TX
"Female Nude in a Studio" circa 1910. 19 X 13 1/2 inches, oil on wood panel. Etched signature lower right. Well listed Hungarian artist. Spent his student years under the guidance o...
Category
1910s Academic Art
Materials
Oil
Buffle Head Duck
Located in Florham Park, NJ
ALEXANDER POPE (1849-1924)
Upland Game Birds and Water Fowl of the United States
20 Chromolithographs, 14” x 20” Unframed
Scribner’s Sons, New York
1877-78
Alexander Pope was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1849. As he he grew up his interests and talents both matured in painting, wood carving and sculpture. The lure of nature led him to combine his abilities to better create a realistic image. He is said to be the first man to paint game birds carved from wood. Two of his painted carvings were purchased by the Czar of Russia...
Category
Late 19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Lithograph
"Young Woman with Headdress"
Located in Southampton, NY
Here for your consideration is a late 19th century needlepoint, petitepoint and beaded portrait of a young woman. It is a highly detailed and meticulously crafted beaded portrait wi...
Category
19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Other Medium
Brant Goose
Located in Florham Park, NJ
ALEXANDER POPE (1849-1924)
Upland Game Birds and Water Fowl of the United States
20 Chromolithographs, 14” x 20” Unframed
Scribner’s Sons, New York
1877-78
Alexander Pope wa...
Category
Late 19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Lithograph
Canada Otter
Located in Florham Park, NJ
JOHN JAMES AUDUBON
John Bachman
The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America
Published by V.G. Audubon
Lithograph with Original Hand-Coloring
New York 1849, 1851, 1854, 1870. Roy...
Category
Mid-19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Lithograph
Ananas Brava. Ananas Noblis
Located in Florham Park, NJ
JOHANN WILHELM WEINMANN.
Phytanthoza Iconographia….
Published by Raisbonae.
Regensburg, 1735-47.
Engraved by J.J. Haid, J.E. Ridinger, B. Seuter and G.D. Ehret.
Hand-colored mez...
Category
18th Century and Earlier Academic Art
Materials
Engraving
Scaup
Located in Florham Park, NJ
ALEXANDER POPE (1849-1924)
Upland Game Birds and Water Fowl of the United States
20 Chromolithographs, 14” x 20” Unframed
Scribner’s Sons, New York
1877-78
Alexander Pope wa...
Category
Late 19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Archival Paper, Archival Tape, Handmade Paper, Plexiglass, Wood
Painting 19th Century Landscape Antique Ruins
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
BACHMANN Alfred Félix August (1863-1956)
Walking by the Antique Ruins
Oil on canvas signed low right
Frame gilded with gold leaves
Dim canvas : 54 X 65 ...
Category
Late 19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Oil
Pears LXXXII
Located in Florham Park, NJ
GEORGE BROOKSHAW (1751 – 1823).
Pomona Britannica of a Collection of the Most Esteemed Fruits….
Engravers R. Brookshaw and H. Merke.
London, 1812.
Aquatint and stipple engravings...
Category
Early 19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Archival Paper, Archival Tape, Handmade Paper, Plexiglass, Rag Paper, Si...
Peaches XXXIV
Located in Florham Park, NJ
GEORGE BROOKSHAW (1751 – 1823).
Pomona Britannica of a Collection of the Most Esteemed Fruits….
Engravers R. Brookshaw and H. Merke.
London, 1812.
Aquatint and stipple engravings...
Category
Early 19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Archival Paper, Archival Tape, Gesso, Handmade Paper, Plexiglass, Rag Pa...
Pennant's Marlon or Fischer
Located in Florham Park, NJ
JOHN JAMES AUDUBON
John Bachman
The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America
Published by V.G. Audubon
Lithograph with Original Hand-Coloring
New York 1849, 1851, 1854, 1870. Roy...
Category
Mid-19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Lithograph
Venitien
Located in Florham Park, NJ
House of Bernard
Founded 1905.
Pen and ink.
Paris, France.
Coats, 1923.
French fashion has influenced men and women, kings and queen, rich and poor throughout time. Tumultuo...
Category
1920s Academic Art
Materials
Ink, Paper, Pen, Plexiglass, Rag Paper, Archival Paper, Archival Tape
The Blue Passion Flower
Located in Florham Park, NJ
DR. ROBERT JOHN THORNTON (c1765 – 1832).
The Temple of Flora.
London, 1798-1810.
Painted by Reinagle, Henderson, Pether, et. al.
Engraved by Ward, Caldwall, Earlom, et. al.
A...
Category
Early 19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Aquatint, Archival Paper, Archival Tape, Engraving, Handmade Paper, Plex...
Alcea Syriaca (Hollyhocks)
Located in Florham Park, NJ
BASIL BESLER (1561 – 1629).
Hortus Eystettensis.
Konrad Bauer. Altdorf, 1613, 1640, 1713 – 50.
Copper plate engravings with modern hand-color
374 plates. 21 ¼” to 21 ½” x 16” t...
Category
18th Century and Earlier Academic Art
Materials
Engraving
Hindou
Located in Florham Park, NJ
House of Bernard
Founded 1905.
Pen and ink.
Paris, France.
Coats, 1923.
French fashion has influenced men and women, kings and queen, rich and poor throughout time. Tumultuo...
Category
1920s Academic Art
Materials
Plexiglass, Archival Paper, Rag Paper, Archival Tape, Ink, Paper
Pseudo Narcissus (Daffodil, Buttercups)
Located in Florham Park, NJ
BASIL BESLER (1561 – 1629).
Hortus Eystettensis.
Konrad Bauer. Altdorf, 1613, 1640, 1713 – 50.
Copper plate engravings with modern hand-color
374 plates. 21 ¼” to 21 ½” x 16” t...
Category
18th Century and Earlier Academic Art
Materials
Engraving
Oblique-leaved Begonia
Located in Florham Park, NJ
This piece would pair well with Thornton's "Hyacinths" which is also listed.
DR. ROBERT JOHN THORNTON (c1765 – 1832).
The Temple of Flora.
London, 17...
Category
Early 19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Plexiglass, Rag Paper, Silk, Watercolor, Arc...
Initial Letters "Q" (Alphabet)
By Owen Jones
Located in Florham Park, NJ
ONE THOUSAND AND ONE INITIAL LETTERS
Owen Jones (1806-1889)
Day & Sons
London, 1864
Chromolithographs
One Thousand and One Initial Letters playfully describes an artistic e...
Category
Mid-19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Lithograph
Flower-de-luce. (Iris)
By Walter Crane
Located in Florham Park, NJ
This piece would pair well with Crane's "Pansies" which is also listed.
FLOWERS FROM SHAKESPEARE’S GARDEN:
A Posy from the Plays
Walter Crane, Illustrator
Cassell & Co., Publisher
Lithography
London, 1909
Born in Liverpool, 15 August 1845, Walter Crane first studied art in his father Thomas’ studio. After both moving to London and losing his father, Crane obtained an apprenticeship as William Linton’s engraving shop. This position exposed the young Crane to political reform which would become a major influence on his future work.
As in illustrator, Crane became part of an influential group of political and religious radical movements. A supporter of the Liberal Party, Crane was outspoken in his support of the Communard’s attempt to overthrow the French government in 1871. It is seemingly ironic that at this time that Crane’s reputation as an illustrator of children’s books began to blossom. Within a decade Crane would join his life-long friend William Morris’s Arts and Crafts...
Category
Early 1900s Academic Art
Materials
Archival Paper, Archival Tape, Gesso, Plexiglass, Rag Paper
Roman and Arabic Numerals (Numbers)
By Owen Jones
Located in Florham Park, NJ
ONE THOUSAND AND ONE INITIAL LETTERS
Owen Jones (1806-1889)
Day & Sons
London, 1864
Chromolithographs
One Thousand and One Initial Letters playfully describes an artistic e...
Category
Mid-19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Lithograph
Narcissus totos luteus (Daffodil)
Located in Florham Park, NJ
BASIL BESLER (1561 – 1629).
Hortus Eystettensis.
Konrad Bauer. Altdorf, 1613, 1640, 1713 – 50.
Copper plate engravings with modern hand-color
374 plates. 21 ¼” to 21 ½” x 16” t...
Category
18th Century and Earlier Academic Art
Materials
Engraving
"Wooden River Bridge"
Located in Southampton, NY
Circa 1940
Signed lower left
Sight size 19 x 26 in
Overall 27.5 x 34.5 in original period frame
Category
1940s Academic Art
Materials
Watercolor, Paper
Piper Indicum (Pepper)
Located in Florham Park, NJ
BASIL BESLER (1561 – 1629).
Hortus Eystettensis.
Konrad Bauer. Altdorf, 1613, 1640, 1713 – 50.
Copper plate engravings with modern hand-color
374 plates.
Hortus Eystettens...
Category
18th Century and Earlier Academic Art
Materials
Engraving
Solanum Pomiferum (Tomato)
Located in Florham Park, NJ
BASIL BESLER (1561 – 1629).
Hortus Eystettensis.
Konrad Bauer. Altdorf, 1613, 1640, 1713 – 50.
Copper plate engravings with modern hand-color
374 plates.
Hortus Eystettensis...
Category
18th Century and Earlier Academic Art
Materials
Engraving
Malva hortensis flore... (Hollyhock, Mallow)
Located in Florham Park, NJ
This piece would pair well with Basil Besler's "Malva Rose" which is also listed.
BASIL BESLER (1561 – 1629).
Hortus Eystettensis.
Konrad Bauer. Altdo...
Category
18th Century and Earlier Academic Art
Materials
Archival Paper, Archival Tape, Gesso, Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Plexig...
The Superb Lily
Located in Florham Park, NJ
DR. ROBERT JOHN THORNTON (c1765 – 1832).
The Temple of Flora.
London, 1798-1810.
Painted by Reinagle, Henderson, Pether, et. al.
Engraved by Ward, Caldwall, Earlom, et. al.
A...
Category
18th Century and Earlier Academic Art
Materials
Archival Paper, Archival Tape, Engraving, Gesso, Handmade Paper, Mezzoti...
Malva Rosea (Hollyhock, Mallow)
Located in Florham Park, NJ
This piece would pair well with Basil Besler's "Malva hortensis flore..." which is also listed
BASIL BESLER (1561 – 1629).
Hortus Eystettensis.
Konrad ...
Category
18th Century and Earlier Academic Art
Materials
Rag Paper, Silk, Watercolor, Archival Paper, Archival Tape, Gesso, Handm...
"Strawberries in a Basket"
By J. Marsac
Located in Southampton, NY
Circa 1890
Signed lower right
Lewis Straus and Sons importers
Stamped Limoges, France
Category
1910s Academic Art
Materials
Porcelain
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 Art
Materials
Oil, Panel
Double Portrait of King Frederik IV and Queen Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow of D
Located in New Orleans, LA
When viewed straight on, this "turning picture" by French artist Gaspar Antoine de Bois-Clair appears to be a disorganized collection of painted facial features and wooden slats. However, when viewed at an angle from either side, two separate images are revealed — portraits of Frederik IV and Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, the King and Queen of Denmark. A wonder of both portraiture and trompe l'oeil, this work demonstrates the artist's skill in rendering intriguing visual effects.
An impressive exercise in representing depth and 3-dimensionality in painting, the work is executed on a series of triangularly-cut strips of wood to create an effect now known as lenticular imaging...
Category
16th Century Academic Art
Materials
Wood, Oil, Panel
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 Art
Materials
Canvas, 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 Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
“Monaco“
By Pieter Franciscus Peters
Located in Southampton, NY
Beautiful and historic oil painting on wooden panel of the Prince’s Palace in Monaco by the well known court painter, Pieter Francis Peters. Signed and dated 1862 lower left. Titled...
Category
1860s Academic Art
Materials
Board, Oil
Palazzo Doria Pamphilij Roma
Located in New York, NY
Palazzo Doria Pamphilij, Roma
C-print
Signed, titled, dated and numbered edition of 5 on artist's label on verso.
39.5 x 47.5 inches, edition of 5
47.5 x 59 inches, edition of 5
7...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Academic Art
Materials
C Print
Academic art for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Academic art 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 art created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of purple, blue, orange, pink and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Karen Darbinyan, Owen Jones, Paul Jones b.1921, and Mark Beard. 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 art, so small editions measuring 1.5 inches across are also available. Prices for art 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 $11 and tops out at $700,000, while the average work sells for $1,444.
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