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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.  

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Style: Academic
Departure of the infantrymen for the war of 14, signed
Departure of the infantrymen for the war of 14, signed

Departure of the infantrymen for the war of 14, signed

Located in Genève, GE

Work on canvas signed lower right Dimension with frame 70 x 80 x 6 cm This striking work captures a group of French soldiers marching determinedly along a dusty road, with the distan...

Category

1910s Academic Art

Materials

Oil

Waiting, Figurative Art, Original oil Painting, One of a Kind
Waiting, Figurative Art, Original oil Painting, One of a Kind

Waiting, Figurative Art, 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: 2012 Style: Impressionism Subject: Waiting, Size: 18" x 14" x 0.8'' ...

Category

2010s Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Boats at the Dock

Boats at the Dock

By Stephen Seymour Thomas

Located in Dallas, TX

gouache with pen and ink signed "Seymour Thomas" at lower right

Category

20th Century Academic Art

Materials

Ink, Gouache, Pen

At the Beach, Impressionism, Original oil Painting, One of a Kind
At the Beach, Impressionism, Original oil Painting, One of a Kind

At the Beach, 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: At the Beach Size: 31.5" x 39.5" x ...

Category

2010s Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Untitled: Three Nude Females
Untitled: Three Nude Females

Untitled: Three Nude Females

Located in New York, NY

Unknown/Unidentified Artist, "Untitled: Three Nude Females", Figurative/ Nude Charcoal signed Drawing on Paper, 24 x 18, Late 20th Century Colors: Black a...

Category

Late 20th Century Academic Art

Materials

Charcoal, Paper

Little Girl, Figurative, Original oil Painting, One of a Kind
Little Girl, Figurative, Original oil Painting, One of a Kind

Little Girl, 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: 2016 Style: Impressionism Title: Little Girl Size: 22" x 28" x 0.8'' ...

Category

2010s Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Original French Anatomical Study of Horse's Head
Original French Anatomical Study of Horse's Head

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: Pen Size: 19.75 (Height) x 12.75 (Width) Signed: No Condition: Good, minor di...

Category

20th Century Academic Art

Materials

Pen

Vintage Large Albumen Photo Jerusalem Landscape
Vintage Large Albumen Photo Jerusalem Landscape

Vintage Large Albumen Photo Jerusalem Landscape

By American Colony Jerusalem

Located in Surfside, FL

The Original American Colony was a colony established in Jerusalem in 1881 by members of a utopian society led by Anna and Horatio Spafford. Now a hotel in East Jerusalem, it is still known by that name today. After suffering a series tragic losses following the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 (see hymn "It is Well with My Soul"), Chicago residents Anna and Horatio Spafford led a small American contingent in 1881 to Jerusalem to form a utopian society. The "American Colony," as it became known, was later joined by Swedish Christians. The society engaged in philanthropic work amongst the people of Jerusalem regardless of religious affiliation, gaining the trust of the local Muslim, Jewish, and Christian communities.During and immediately after World War I, the American Colony carried out philanthropic work to alleviate the suffering of the local inhabitants, opening soup kitchens, hospitals, orphanages and other charitable ventures. Towards the end of the 1950s, the society's communal residence was converted into the American Colony Hotel. The hotel is an integral part of the Jerusalem landscape where members of all communities in Jerusalem still meet. In 1992 representatives from the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel met in the hotel where they began talks that led to the historic 1993 Oslo Peace Accord. Panorama of Jerusalem, c. 1890-1920 The Colony moved to the large house of a wealthy Arab landowner, Rabbah Husseini, outside the city walls in Sheikh Jarrah on the road to Nablus. Part of the building was used as a hostel for visitors from Europe and America. A small farm developed with animals, a butchery, a dairy, a bakery, a carpenter's shop, and a smithy. The economy was supplemented by a shop selling photographs, craft items and archaeological artifacts. The American Colonists were embraced by the Jewish and Palestinian communities for their good works, among them, teaching in both Muslim and Jewish schools. Photography Around 1900, Elijah Meyers, a member of the American Colony, began taking photographs of places and events in and around the city of Jerusalem. Meyers's work eventually expanded into a full-fledged photographic division within the Colony, including Hol Lars (Lewis) Larsson and G. Eric Matson, who later renamed the effort as the Matson Photographic Service. Their interest in archeological artifacts (such as the Lion Tower in Tripoli pictured here), and the detail of their photographs, led to widespread interest in their work by archeologists. The collection was later donated to the Library of Congress. World War I When the Ottoman Empire entered World War I as an ally of Germany in November 1914, Jerusalem and Palestine became a battleground between the Allied and the Central powers...

Category

Late 19th Century Academic Art

Materials

Photographic Paper

"On the Vaudoise cost, Switzerland" by René Zwahlen - Watercolor 44x57 cm
"On the Vaudoise cost, Switzerland" by René Zwahlen - Watercolor 44x57 cm

"On the Vaudoise cost, Switzerland" by René Zwahlen - Watercolor 44x57 cm

Located in Geneva, CH

Watercolor on Arches paper 640g Sold with a silver frame without glass Total size with the passe-partout and the frame 65x78 cm René Zwahlen was a Swiss watercolor artist and pai...

Category

20th Century Academic Art

Materials

Watercolor

Muse, Women Portrait, Original oil Painting, One of a Kind
Muse, Women Portrait, Original oil Painting, One of a Kind

Muse, Women Portrait, Original oil Painting, One of a Kind

By Ashot Yan

Located in Granada Hills, CA

Artist: Ashot Yan Work: Original Oil Painting, Handmade Artwork, One of a Kind Medium: Oil on Linen, Year: 2016 Style: Portrait Surrealism, Title: Muse, Size: 19.5" x 19.5" x 0.8'' ...

Category

2010s Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Stony Beach, Impressionism, Original Oil Painting, One of a Kind
Stony Beach, Impressionism, Original Oil Painting, One of a Kind

Stony Beach, 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: 2019 Style: Impressionism Title: Stony Beach Size: 24" x 30" x 0.8'' ...

Category

2010s Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Still Life in Blue, flowers, Original Oil Painting, One of a Kind
Still Life in Blue, flowers, Original Oil Painting, One of a Kind

Still Life in Blue, flowers, 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: 2012 Style: Impressionism Title: Still Life in Blue Size: 23.5" x 27.5" x 0.8'' inch, (60x70x2cm), 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...

Category

2010s Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait Max Surrealism, Original oil Painting, One of a Kind
Portrait Max Surrealism, Original oil Painting, One of a Kind

Portrait Max Surrealism, Original oil Painting, One of a Kind

By Ashot Yan

Located in Granada Hills, CA

Artist: Ashot Yan Work: Original Oil Painting, Handmade Artwork, One of a Kind Medium: Oil on Linen, Year: 2017 Style: Portrait Surrealism, Title: Portrait Max, Size: 23.5" x 19.5" ...

Category

2010s Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Edouard Detaille (1848 1912), The Young Paperboy, signed watercolor
Edouard Detaille (1848 1912), The Young Paperboy, signed watercolor

Edouard Detaille (1848 1912), The Young Paperboy, signed watercolor

By Jean Baptiste Édouard Detaille

Located in Paris, FR

Edouard Detaille (1848-1912) The Young Paperboy 16.5 x 20.5 cm Watercolor and brown ink on paper Signed lower right In good condition, the paper is slightly yellowed by time, some o...

Category

1880s Academic Art

Materials

Ink, Watercolor

Mexican School Mother and Child
Mexican School Mother and Child

Mexican School Mother and Child

Located in San Francisco, CA

Beautiful Mexican school painting of a mother carrying her child. It is a mixed medium on paper using what looks to be oil paint as well as oil, crayon and or pastel. Wonderfully exe...

Category

20th Century Academic Art

Materials

Oil Crayon, Oil

“Flying South”
“Flying South”

“Flying South”

Located in Southampton, NY

Original oil on canvas painting of Canadian geese flying south under a twilight sky. Beautiful light reflection in the water below Signed lower right and attributed to Alice Roge...

Category

1940s Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

“Cape Neddick Light”
“Cape Neddick Light”

“Cape Neddick Light”

By John Cuthbert Hare

Located in Southampton, NY

Original watercolor on archival paper of the Cape Neddick Lighthouse in York, Maine. Signed lower right. Circa 1950. Condition is very good. Several tiny spots of foxing. The wa...

Category

1950s Academic Art

Materials

Watercolor, Archival Paper

“View of Switzerland”
“View of Switzerland”

“View of Switzerland”

By John William Casilear

Located in Southampton, NY

Beautiful oil on fiberboard painting of a view of Switzerland done by the American artist, John William Casilear. Signed with monogram lower left. Condition is excellent. Circa 1857/1858. The painting is housed in a contemporary frame. Overall framed measurements are 6 5/8 by 8 5/8 inches. lProvenance: Long Island, New York collector. Biography John William Casilear was born in New York City on June 25, 1811. Like his fellow Hudson River School landscapists Asher B. Durand and John F. Kensett, he worked as an engraver before turning to painting. In 1826 Casilear was apprenticed to the engraver Peter Maverick (1780-1831), and at first he primarily executed bank notes. Durand encouraged him to attempt other subjects, however, and during the 1830s he madeengravings after some of the most prominent paintings of the day, including Daniel Huntington's The Sybil (New-York Historical Society). In 1832 he began submitting engravings to the National Academy of Design exhibition and he first showed paintings there in 1836. In 1833 Casilear was elected an Associate of the Academy; he was elevated to full Academician status in 1851. In 1840 Casilear accompanied Durand, Kensett, and another painter, Thomas P. Rossiter (1818-1871), on a trip to Europe. There the artists studied and copied paintings...

Category

1850s Academic Art

Materials

Fiberboard, Oil

Chartres La Mort de la Viegre X111”
Chartres La Mort de la Viegre X111”

Chartres La Mort de la Viegre X111”

Located in Southampton, NY

Original photo mechanical print handcolored throughout by the French artist, Lucy Garnot. Signed and titled bottom. Circa 1900. Condition is very go...

Category

Early 1900s Academic Art

Materials

Archival Paper, Photogravure

Three Gould Hand-colored Lithographs from Birds of Australia and New Zealand
Three Gould Hand-colored Lithographs from Birds of Australia and New Zealand

Three Gould Hand-colored Lithographs from Birds of Australia and New Zealand

By John Gould

Located in Alamo, CA

Three hand-colored lithographs from John Gould's seven volume book "The Birds of Australia", which included New Zealand, depicting: pairs of "Eudyptes Chrysocome" (New Zealand Rock-hopper Crested Penguins), "Diomedea O Thalassarche Cauta" (Australian Shy Albatross) and "Sula Fusca" (Brown Gannets). These beautiful sea bird prints are presented in identical very attractive brown wood frames, embellished with gold highlights in the corners and gold inner trim, along with light cream-colored French mats, each with a medium cream-colored band and a gold highlight line. There is scattered spotting. There is a small tear in the lower right corner of the penguin lithograph...

Category

1840s Academic Art

Materials

Lithograph

“Sailing Ships off the Coast”
“Sailing Ships off the Coast”

“Sailing Ships off the Coast”

Located in Southampton, NY

Original oil on canvas painting of sailing ships off the Danish coast by the marine artist, Johan Jens Neumann. Signed lower left and dated 1921. Slightly covered by frame. Conditi...

Category

1920s Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

James Dean by Mario Napoli - Bronze 60x50x28 cm
James Dean by Mario Napoli - Bronze 60x50x28 cm

James Dean by Mario Napoli - Bronze 60x50x28 cm

Located in Geneva, CH

Bronze sculpture by Mario Napoli, Swiss artist from XXth century. His works was sold 12 times in auctions since 2022. Work signed in the bronze. Edition ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Academic Art

Materials

Bronze

Beehives, Original oil Painting, One of a Kind

Beehives, Original oil Painting, One of a Kind

By Karen Darbinyan

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: Beehives Size: 12" x 17" x 0.8'' inc...

Category

2010s Academic Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Anatomical Study of Horse Legs
Anatomical Study of Horse Legs

Anatomical Study of Horse Legs

By Robert Ladou

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Title: Anatomical Study of Horse Legs Artist: Robert Ladou (French, 1929-2014) Medium: Coloured Pencil and pen on paper Size: 20 (Height) x 13.75 (Width) Signed: No Condition: Good ...

Category

20th Century Academic Art

Materials

Gel Pen, Color Pencil

Original French Anatomical Study of Horse's Eyes
Original French Anatomical Study of Horse's Eyes

Original French Anatomical Study of Horse's Eyes

By Robert Ladou

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Title: Original French Anatomical Study of Horse's Eyes Artist: Robert Ladou (French, 1929-2014) Medium: Acrylic on Paper Size: 18.25 (Height) x 14.75 (Width) Signed: No Condition: G...

Category

20th Century Academic Art

Materials

Acrylic

“Flower Seller, Notre Dame”
“Flower Seller, Notre Dame”

“Flower Seller, Notre Dame”

Located in Southampton, NY

Very nice original hand colored copper plate etching (aquatint) by the Hungarian born artist, Marianne L. Almasy. Depicts a Parisian flower girl selling her bouquets with the iconic cathedral of Notre Dame. Handwritten bottom left in pencil, original etching 136/295. Handwritten in pencil by the artist lower right, L. Marianne. Condition: excellent. Provenance: Sarasota, Florida estate. Professionally matted with a one inch solid oak frame in a medium walnut stain. Overall 24 by 19 inches. Marianne Almasy...

Category

1980s Academic Art

Materials

Archival Paper, Etching

“Pietra Dura Male Dancer”
“Pietra Dura Male Dancer”

“Pietra Dura Male Dancer”

Located in Southampton, NY

Original pietra dura handmade mosaic plaque composed of marble and other exotic stone of a traditionally clad dancing male figure holding an horn. Circa 1950. Condition is excellent....

Category

1950s Academic Art

Materials

Stone

“Pietra Dura Female Dancer”
“Pietra Dura Female Dancer”

“Pietra Dura Female Dancer”

Located in Southampton, NY

Original pietra dura handmade mosaic plaque composed of marble and other exotic stone of a traditionally clad dancing female figure holding an horn. Circa 1950. Condition is excellen...

Category

1950s Academic Art

Materials

Stone

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.