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.
Vintage Large Albumen Photo Jerusalem Photograph American Colony Old City Market
Located in Surfside, FL
The mat measures 21 X 16 the images are around 12 X 9 inches. They bear the blindstamp of the American Colony Jerusalem. I am not sure if these are hand colored but they are from th...
Photographic Paper
Chinese Monastery, Impressionism, Original 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: Acrylic on Canvas Year: 2019 Style: Impressionism Title: Chinese Monastery Size: 16" x 20...
Canvas, Acrylic
Summer Day, 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: Summer Day, Size: 9" x 13.5" x 0.8'...
Canvas, Oil
Roman Warrior Large En Grisaille Oil on Canvas by Philip Melville Courtney
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Large En Grisaille Oil on Canvas by Philip Melville Courtney After Gregorio di Lorenzo — Profile of a Classical Warrior This commanding large-scale oil on canvas by American artist P...
Oil
Play on 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: 2017 Style: Impressionism Title: Play on the Beach Size: 11" x 14" x ...
Canvas, Oil
$555Sale Price|20% Off
Original French Anatomical Pencil Study of Horse’s Head and Neck
By Robert Ladou
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: Original French Anatomical Pencil Study of Horse’s Head and Neck Artist: Robert Ladou (French, 1929-2014) Medium: Pencil on Paper Size: 20 (Height) x 13.75 (Width) Signed: No ...
Pencil
$1,200
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: 23.5" x 23.5" x 0.8'' i...
Canvas, Oil
$555Sale Price|20% Off
Original French Study of Children Watching Horses Cross a Bridge
By Robert Ladou
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: Original French Study of Children Watching Horses Cross a Bridge Artist: Robert Ladou (French, 1929-2014) Medium: Ink on card Size: 6.5 (Height) x 14.75 (Width) Signed: No Co...
Ink
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
$440Sale Price|20% Off
Sketch woman portrait by Stephanie Guerzoni - Sketch on paper 26x37 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Work on paper
Crayon
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
$5,200Sale Price|20% Off
“View of Pyramid Cestius, Rome”
Located in Southampton, NY
Brown ink and wash drawing with touches of watercolor and gouache by the French artist, Francois-Marius Granet. Signed lower left. Condition: Good. Provenance: Christie’s London sale 1993. Matted but unframed. The Pyramid of Cestius (in Italian, Piramide di Caio Cestio or Piramide Cestia...
Paper, Watercolor, Ink, Gouache
$1,800
The Girl and the Sea, Figurative, Coastal, 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: 2022 Style: Impressionism Title: The Girl and the Sea Size: 27.5" x 3...
Canvas, Oil
Landscape, Impressionism, Original 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: Acrylic on Canvas Year: 2019 Style: Impressionism Title: Landscape Size: 24" x 30" x 0.8'' inch, (61x76x2cm), 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, Acrylic
Russell Flint watercolour of skiing near St. Moritz, British, 20th Century
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Sir William Russell Flint (British, 1880 – 1969) Winter sports in the Engadine, possibly St. Moritz watercolour on paper signed ‘W RUSSELL FLINT’ (lower right) 12.1/2 x 19.3/8 in. (3...
Paper, Watercolor
$555Sale 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: Pen Size: 19.75 (Height) x 12.75 (Width) Signed: No Condition: Good, minor di...
Pen
Mashallah! by Carl Haag
By Carl Haag
Located in New Orleans, LA
Carl Haag 1820–1915 German Mashallah! Signed and dated “Carl Haag / 1870” (lower right) Titled and signed “Mash: Allah! / by Carl Haag” (en verso) Watercolor heightened with white...
Watercolor
Fall Landscape, 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: 2018 Style: Impressionism Subject: Fall Landscape Size: 24" x 30" x 0...
Canvas, Oil
Foggy day, 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: Foggy Day Size: 17.5" x 23.5" x 0.8'...
Canvas, Oil
Drawing of Putti with Anchor by Jean-Jacques le Barbier l'Ainé (1738-1826)
By Jean Jacques Francois Le Barbier
Located in SANTA FE, NM
Drawing of Putti with Anchor Jean-Jacques le Barbier l'Ainé (1738-1826) Black pencil on paper Signed and dated lower left "...1822. 12 years l waiting" Considering that the anchor ...
Paper, Pencil
Portrait of an Elegant Woman Dressed in Eighteenth-Century
Located in Naples, Florida
Signed lower left Fernand Toussaint was a Belgian painter known for portraits, genre scenes, and refined representations of women. Trained in Brussels and la...
Oil, Canvas
$985Sale Price|20% Off
Flowering branch
Located in Genève, GE
Work on paper signed This work illustrates a vibrant branch of flowers, showcasing shades of bright red and soft green. The artist has precisely captured the delicacy of the undulat...
Watercolor, Paper
$760Sale Price|20% Off
“Les Revers de la Fortune”
Located in Southampton, NY
Original stipple engraving with colors titled “Les Revers de la Fortune” (Reversal of Fortune) by the well known French engraver, Louis Marin Bonnet...
Laid Paper, Engraving
Lavenders, 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: Lavenders Size: 15.5" x 23.5" x 0.8'...
Canvas, Oil
The Wave, 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: 2018 Style: Impressionism Title: The Wave Size: 16" x 20" x 0.8'' inc...
Canvas, Oil
$13,044
Josep Cusachs – Luminous Portrait of Young Man with Straw Hat, 1884
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Painted in 1884, this refined portrait by Josep Cusachs belongs to the early mature phase of the artist’s career, shortly after his departure from military service and full dedicatio...
Canvas, Oil
$666Sale Price|20% Off
Original French Illustrations of an Equine Skeletal and Dental Structures
By Robert Ladou
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: Original French Illustrations of an Equine Skeletal and Dental Structures Artist: Robert Ladou (French, 1929-2014) Medium: Pencil and Pen on Paper Size: 19.75 (Height) x 25.75...
Pencil, Pen
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
$555Sale Price|20% Off
Original French Anatomical Pencil Study of Horse’s Limb
By Robert Ladou
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: Original French Anatomical Pencil Study of Horse’s Limb Artist: Robert Ladou (French, 1929-2014) Medium: Pencil on Paper Size: 20 (Height) x 13 (Width) Signed: No Condition: G...
Pencil
$555Sale Price|20% Off
Original French Anatomical Study of Horse's Skeletal Structure
By Robert Ladou
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: Original French Anatomical Study of Horse's Skeletal Structure Artist: Robert Ladou (French, 1929-2014) Medium: Pencil and Coloured Pen on Paper Size: 19.75 (Height) x 12.75 (...
Pencil, Pen, Color Pencil
Symphony of Flowers, Original 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: Acrylic on Canvas Year: 2019 Style: Impressionism Title: Symphony of Flowers Size: 24" x ...
Canvas, Acrylic
Flower Sellers, Figurative, Original Painting, One of a Kind
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Artist: Ara H. Hakobyan Work: Original Painting, Handmade Artwork, One of a Kind Medium: Acrylic on Canvas Year: 2019 Style: Impressionism Title: Flower Sellers Size: 16" x 20" x 0.8'' inch, (41x51x2cm), 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, Acrylic
The Sunflowers Seller, 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: 2013 Style: Impressionism Title: The Sunflowers Seller Size: 15.5" x ...
Canvas, Oil
$800
Spring, Figurative Art, 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: 2018 Style: Impressionism Title: Spring, Size: 18" x 24" x 0.8'' inc...
Canvas, Oil
$440Sale Price|20% Off
View of old Lausanne by Ch. François Villermet - Work on paper 31x48 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Work on paper Golden wooden frame with glass pane 48 x 64 x 1 cm
Charcoal, Pencil
In the Garden, Blossom trees 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: 2017 Style: Impressionism Subject: In the Garden Size: 22" x 28" x 0....
Canvas, Oil
Paris, Cityscape, 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: 2015 Style: Impressionism Title: Paris Size: 11" x 14" x 0.8'' inch, ...
Canvas, Oil
Evening View a Port, Harbor, 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: 2013 Style: Impressionism Subject: Evening View a Port, Size: 16" x ...
Canvas, Oil
$888Sale Price|20% Off
"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...
Watercolor
"Red Bell II, " Oil painting
Located in Denver, CO
Thane Gorek's (US based) "Red Bell II" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a red bell pepper halved, so that it's seeds and core are exposed...
Oil, Board
$3,381Sale Price|20% Off
Painting Belgian 19th animal painter VERBOECKHOVEN woodLandscape cow sheperdess
Located in PARIS, FR
Eugène VERBOECKHOVEN Warneton, 1798 – Schaerbeek, 1881 Oil on wood panel 42 x 33.5 cm (58 x 50 cm with the frame) Signed, dated and located lower right “EJ Verboeckhoven / 1826 / à G...
Oil
$555Sale Price|20% Off
Minimalist Sketch of a Horse and Rider Clearing a Jump
By Robert Ladou
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: Minimalist Sketch of a Horse and Rider Clearing a Jump Artist: Robert Ladou (French, 1929-2014) Medium: Pencil on paper Size: 7 (Height) x 8.25 (Width) Signed: No Condition:...
Pencil
$3,000Sale Price|25% Off
Late 19th Century Reclining Nude California School
Located in Soquel, CA
Late 19th century California School reclining nude female figure by anonymous 19th Century artist. In the style of William-Adolphe Bouguereau. ...
Canvas, Oil
French 19th Century Romantic Period 1830s Parisian Lady Portrait Madame Seguin
Located in Norwich, GB
A stunning portrait of a Parisian beauty from the romantic period by Adele Grasset (active ca 1830-1850). With her intelligent eyes and determined look, doesn't this lady bear great resemblance to Chopin's paramour George Sand? The sitter is Jeanne Marie Vidal, wife of Claude Auguste Seguin, from a prominent family in Avignon, as the family tree attached to the back for the frame indicates. Research in old annals has also revealed that Madame Seguin was a modern and independent lady: she worked in lady's fashion in Paris, and patented wrapping mechanism that protected lady's hats during their transport! As often with woman artists of the 18th and 19th century, there is little biographical information available on the artist, Adèle Grasset. We do know however, that she had studied with the highly prominent artist François Gérard (1770-1837) , known also as the Baron Gérard...
Paper, Charcoal
Omnibus in Paris - Handsigned Original Watercolor Painting
Located in Paris, IDF
Francis GARAT Omnibus in Paris Original watercolor painting Handsigned in ink On vellum, 30 x 40 cm (c. 11,8 x 15,7 inch) Excellent condition
Watercolor
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...
Oil
$288Sale Price|56% Off
Portrait of a woman by Stefanie Guerzoni - Charcoal on paper 50x65 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Work on paper
Charcoal
$680Sale Price|20% Off
“Dockside Serenity”
Located in Southampton, NY
Here for your consideration is a very well executed original watercolor by the American artist, Erhard Ericson. Signed lower left by the artist. Condition is excellent. The waterc...
Watercolor, Archival Paper
$3,336Sale Price|50% Off
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 ...
Bronze
'Still Life, Red Tulips with Japanese Porcelain', Belgian Lace, Japonaiserie
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
A finely-drawn, pastel still-life showing red tulips informally arranged in a Chelsea soft paste porcelain Chocolate pot decorated in the Japanese style and set beside a cup and sauc...
Gold Leaf
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
Fisherman Boats on the Scheldt - Original Etching
Located in Paris, IDF
Carel Nicolaas STORM VAN'S GRAVENSANDE Fisherman Boats on the Scheldt Original etching Printed signature in the plate On laid paper, 26,5 x 38 cm (c. 10,4 x 14,9 inch) Excellent co...
Etching
$1,000Sale Price|20% Off
Stone Steps by the River - Late 1800s Watercolor on Paper
Located in Soquel, CA
Stone Steps by the River - Late 1800s Watercolor on Paper Dramatic and detailed landscape by Lucy Ellen Cooper (British, 1853-1929). On the right side of the composition, a set of t...
Paper, Watercolor
Declaration of Independence
Located in Milwaukee, WI
This print, entitled "Declaration of Independence," is an original color lithograph by the publishing firm Kurz & Allison, produced in celebration of the centennial of the United...
Lithograph
“Cordes”
Located in Southampton, NY
Original oil on board painting of the historic village of Cordes-sur-Ciel in France by the well known American artist, David Buckley Good. Signed lower left by the artist. Titled ...
Oil, Board
$1,320Sale Price|20% Off
"Wooden River Bridge"
By Shigesaburo Ishida
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
Watercolor, Paper
$352Sale Price|20% Off
The Swiss by Otto Vautier - Drawing 31x24 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Work on canvas Otto Vautier is a renowned Swiss painter, born in 1863 in Düsseldorf. He was influenced by a family of artists and developed his style dur...
Crayon, Watercolor
Brother Sister
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist: Pierre Lavarenne (French, born 1928) Title: Brother Sister Year: Circa 1975 Medium: Oil on canvas Canvas size: 15 x 18.25 inches Signat...
Oil
Tug Seascape Original oil Painting on Linen, Framed
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Seascape Original oil Painting on Linen, Framed Artist: Karen Darbinyan Work: Original Oil Painting, Handmade Artwork, One of a Kind Medium: Oil on Linen, Year: 2021 Style: Impressio...
Canvas, Oil
Stella Maris and Down Patrick Head
Located in Dallas, TX
Eleanor Jones Harvey, Chief Curator at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, writes about Bob Stuth-Wade: “Over the course of his career, Bob Stuth-Wade has examined his responses to...
Paper, Watercolor