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.
$520Sale Price|20% Off
“Mallards 2”
By Alan Farrell
Located in Southampton, NY
Miniature watercolor painting on arches paper of a pair of mallards done by the very well known miniature artist, Allan Farrell. Exhibited at the Royal Miniature Society exhibition i...
Watercolor, Archival Paper
Solothman on the Aase, Switzerland
By Eugene Schmidt
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist: Eugene Schmidt (German/American, 1919-2007) Title: Solothman on the Aase, Switzerland Year: Circa 1970 Medium: Oil on canvas board Board size: 10 x 8 inches Signature...
Oil
$9,151Sale Price|20% Off
Monumental Figurative Bacchanal Painting on Four Wood Panels Botanical Interior
Located in FISTERRA, ES
Large contemporary figurative painting on four wooden panels depicting a modern Bacchanalian gathering surrounded by an immersive botanical landscape, where mythology, ornament and c...
Fabric, Acrylic, Board, Spray Paint
$9,292
Large landscape oil painting of the Deer Park at Vaynol country estate, Wales
By George Earl
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
George Earl (British, 1824 -1908) Rivals at Dawn, Vaynol The Deer Park at Vaynol is a country estate in Gwynedd, Wales Oil on canvas Signed and dated ‘George Earl. Pinxt 1882’ (lower...
Canvas, Oil
$960Sale Price|20% Off
“Haughton in the County of Nottingham” (Near Newark Upon Trent)
By Johannes Kip
Located in Southampton, NY
An original hand colored engraving by Johannes 'Jan' Kip (1653-1722) of Haughton in the County of Nottinghamshire, one of the seats of Prince John Duke of ...
Engraving
Untitled: Still Life with Cauliflower, Orange and Pepper
Located in New York, NY
Unidentified/ Unknown Artist, "Untitled: Still Life with Cauliflower, Orange and Pepper", Monogrammed Still Life Watercolor on Paper, 16 x 20, Late 20th Century Colors: Brown, Blue...
Paper, Watercolor
$2,880Sale Price|20% Off
“Floral Bouquet with Mandolin”
Located in Southampton, NY
Beautiful floral watercolor and gouache on paper with musical instruments by the German artist, Friedrich (Frederick) Jungling. Signed lower right and dated 1908. Excellent condition...
Watercolor, Gouache, Archival Paper
Still-Life With Roses and China Jewel Box
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Hortense DURY-VASSELON (1860-1924) Still Life with Roses and China Jewel Box Oil on canvas signed and dated 1905 low left DIm canvas : 63 X 50 cm Di...
Oil
$2,928Sale Price|20% Off
Shepherds by a Lake: Early-20th Century Contemporary Oil Painting
Located in Genève, GE
Monogrammed in the lower right corner. Dimension with frame : 49.5 x 67.2 x 5 cm. This monogrammed oil on canvas depicts an evocative Orientalist pastoral scene, featuring two figur...
Oil, Canvas
$228Sale Price|33% Off
Fishing Party - Pencil drawing - circa 1914
Located in Paris, IDF
Georges CONRAD (1874-1936) Fishing Party Original pencil and color pencil drawing Signed with the stamp of atelier On paper 26.5 x 20 cm (c. 10,4 x 7.8 in) Very good condition, pap...
Carbon Pencil, Color Pencil
"Habenero, " Oil painting
By Thane Gorek
Located in Denver, CO
Thane Gorek's (US based) "Habenero" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts an orange Habanero pepper halved, so that it's seeds and core are ex...
Oil, Canvas
$5,000
"Chicago World's Fair" Florence McClung, Female Artist, Modernist Architecture
Located in New York, NY
Florence McClung Chicago World's Fair, 1933 Signed lower right Watercolor on paper 10 x 14 inches Florence McClung was a pioneering Texas painter, printmaker, and educator whose ca...
Paper, Watercolor
$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
Tender Innocence print on canvas
Located in Zofingen, AG
High quality print on canvas. Made from original oil painting "Tender Innence". Originally created by artist Maria Matveyeva in 2016 year.
Canvas
20th Century British watercolour of Cowdrey ruins, West Sussex by Muncaster
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Claude Muncaster (British, 1903-1974) Cowdray ruins, West Sussex Pencil and watercolour 12.1/2 x 9 in. (31.7 x 22.8 cm.) Provenance: Garton & Cooke, New Bond Street, London Exhibitio...
Watercolor, Pencil
$228Sale Price|42% Off
Study of woman in bathing suit - Ink drawing - circa 1916
Located in Paris, IDF
Georges CONRAD (1874-1936) Study of woman in bathing suit Original India ink and color pencil drawing Signed with the stamp of atelier On paper 26.5 x 20 cm (c. 10.4 x 7.8 in) Ver...
India Ink, Color Pencil
Morning moments - Pencil drawing - circa 1914
Located in Paris, IDF
Georges CONRAD (1874-1936) Morning moments Original India ink drawing Signed with the stamp of atelier On paper 26.5 x 20 cm (c. 10,4 x 7.8 in) Very good condition, paper lightly y...
India Ink
$228Sale Price|42% Off
Gentle Evening - Pencil drawing - circa 1914
Located in Paris, IDF
Georges CONRAD (1874-1936) Gentle evening Original pencil and color pencil drawing Signed with the stamp of atelier On paper 26.5 x 20 cm (c. 10,4 x 7.8 in) Very good condition, pa...
Carbon Pencil, Color Pencil
$210Sale Price|30% Off
Academic Study for the Head of an Apostle or Saint
Located in Firenze, IT
Study for the Head of an Apostle or Saint Artist: Enrico Reffo (1831-1917) Medium: Charcoal and white chalk on colored paper Dimensions: [To be specified] Date: Late 19th - Early 20...
Paper, Charcoal, Carbon Pencil
$1,711Sale Price|20% Off
The Librarian Portrait, 19th Century, Oil on Canvas, Framed
Located in Genève, GE
Work on canvas : 61 x 43 cm Golden frame With frame : 70 x 52.7 x 4 cm This 19th-century portrait by an anonymous artist shows an elderly man seated at his desk, engrossed in writing...
Oil, Canvas
$380Sale Price|20% Off
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...
Archival Paper, Photogravure
$628Sale Price|20% Off
Early English watercolour of cottage on lane in Pirbright Constable Contemporary
Located in Harkstead, GB
A very attractive view of a rural lane in Pirbright by this highly collectable artist who was a contemporary and friend of John Constable. Dr William Crotch (1775-1847) Mr Pear's House at Pirbright from the Turnpike Signed with initials on reverse and inscribed as title and additionally " Thunder about/ 1 pm" watercolour and pencil 4 x 6½ inches without frame 11 x 13 inches with frame William Crotch (5 July 1775 – 29 December 1847) was an English composer and organist. According to the British musicologist Nicholas Temperley, Crotch was "a child prodigy without parallel in the history of music", and was certainly the most distinguished English musician in his day. Crotch was a professional musician, becoming the first Principal of the Royal Academy of Music...
Paper, Watercolor, Pencil
$1,720Sale Price|20% Off
Still-Life Painting of Box and Bag, Oil on Canvas, 1940s, Unframed
Located in Genève, GE
Modernist Still Life Signed Bovy Lysberg, 1943 – Surrealist Symbolist Oil on Canvas This exceptional oil on canvas signed Bovy Lysberg and dated 1943 presents a striking modernist st...
Oil, Canvas
Man and Sun Gold, Signed Abstract Screenprint by Lebadang
By Hoi Lebadang
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Lebadang, Vietnamese (1922 - 2015) Title: Untitled - Man and Sun Medium: Screenprint, signed in pencil Edition: EA Size: 30 x 22 in. (76.2 x 55.88 cm)
Screen
'Dancer in Seated Gesture 2, ' by James Cobb, Chalk and Conté on Paper, 2021
By James Cobb
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
This 11.25 x 15.25 work on paper features a lone, seated, female dancer viewed from the back. The figure is twisting toward the viewer as she begins to look over her right shoulder. Her legs are pulled toward her body with the left leg crossed over the right. The isolation of the seated figure within the ground of the page lends a vulnerable quality to the work. The 16 x 20 dark brown mat has a window size of 11.25 x 15.25. Bio: Jim Cobb, until recently was hanging his work on Canyon Rd in Santa Fe, New Mexico. One-man shows have been hosted in Taos, New Mexico, Norman, Oklahoma and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. When the Oklahoma Art...
Chalk, Conté, Paper
20th century English pencil sketch study of a young boys head
Located in Woodbury, CT
Ernest Procter Wonderful classical drawing of a young boys head study Ernest Procter ARA was an English designer, illustrator and painter, and husband of the famous British artist ...
Handmade Paper, Carbon Pencil
Retrato de un caballero - Técnica mixta sobre papel - Enmarcado
Located in Sant Celoni, ES
La obra no va firmada Se presenta enmarcada la pintura El estado de la obra es bueno Medidas obra: 30 x 22 cm. Medidas marco: 53 x 45 cm.
Mixed Media
"Warm Evening Solitude"
By John P. Nicolson
Located in Southampton, NY
For your consideration here is a wonderful original watercolor by the Scottish born artist John P. Nicolson also known as John Nicolson. Executed circa 1915 in the style of Winslow H...
Paper, Watercolor
$2,000Sale Price|20% Off
Hudson River School Landscape with a portrait of a Boy and Dog Original Pastel
Located in Soquel, CA
Portrait of a young boy and his dog in oil pastel on paper on linen by Maurice B. Rosenbaum (American, 1868-1942) An American portrait painter form New York. Notable paintings includ...
Pastel, Stretcher Bars, Linen, Oil Pastel
$274Sale Price|40% Off
French Woman with a Officer - Ink drawing - 1916
Located in Paris, IDF
Georges CONRAD (1874-1936) French Woman with a Officer Original India ink and pencil drawing Signed with the stamp of atelier On paper 26.5 x 20 cm (c. 10,4 x 7.8 in) Very good co...
India Ink, Color Pencil
Secretary in the Subway - Pencil drawing - circa 1913
Located in Paris, IDF
Georges CONRAD (1874-1936) Secretary in the Subway Original pencil and color pencils drawing Signed with the stamp of atelier On paper 26.5 x 20 cm (c. 10,4 x 7.8 in) Good conditio...
Carbon Pencil, Color Pencil
$650Sale Price|33% Off
“European Village”
Located in Southampton, NY
Original watercolor on archival paper laid down to heavy card stock by the American artist, Edward Loyal Field. The watercolor is of a European scene, perhaps Holland when the artist...
Watercolor, Archival Paper
Mid-20th Century Framed Crayon Drawing of Half-Lying Young Woman
Located in Genève, GE
Stamp of the workshop lower right Work on paper Golden wood frame with glass pane 35.5 x 41 x 3.5 cm
Crayon
The Water Tower Coastal Landscape Painting, Oil on Panel, Framed 2010+
Located in Greenville, DE
Coastal landscape painting by Giovanni Casadei, "The Water Tower." Oil on panel. Framed dimensions 12.5 x 17.5 inches. Casadei’s approach to painting is to communicate to the viewer ...
Panel, Oil
$1,050Sale Price|25% Off
Louis Charles Auguste Couder (1789-1873) Portrait of a young man, signed pastel
By Louis Charles Auguste Couder
Located in Paris, FR
Louis Charles Auguste Couder (1789-1873) Portrait of a young man signed on the right border Pastel on paper 28.5 x 21 cm In good condition In a modern frame : 48 x 40.5 cm Augu...
Pastel
Hands Patinated Bronze Sculpture, Signed JM, 1976, Black Wood Base
Located in Lake Worth Beach, FL
Patinated Bronze Of Hands Singed with initials JM and dated 76. Bronze on lacquer black wood base. James Meade native of Virginia, Meade attended the Unive...
Bronze
Four Season Extraordinary Set of Italian Stone Caryatids Sculptures
Located in Rome, IT
Four Caryatids sculptures with classically draped figures and their distinguishing symbols. Autumn, winter, spring and summer. Measures: Height with square form bases cm 220. Time...
Limestone
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
$520Sale Price|20% Off
“Returning Home”
By Hermanus Jan Hendrik Rijkelijkhuysen
Located in Southampton, NY
Original etching on Ingres laid paper (watermarked, see last photograph) attributed to the hand of the well known Dutch artist, Hermanus Jan Hendrik Rijkelijkhuysen. No visible signature. Sheet size 9.25 by 12 inches. Sight size 7 by 9 inches. Under glass. Circa 1875. Condition is excellent. Professionally matted and framed in a walnut colored frame with gold leaf edge. Overall framed measurements are 12.75 by 14.5 inches. Gallery label verso. Provenance: A Sarasota, Florida collector. Biography: Hermanus Jan Hendrik Rijkelijkhuysen (1813-1883) was a landscape painter and etcher. Rijkelijkhuysen spent most of his life working in the vicinity of his birthplace Utrecht. Inspired by the polders on the one hand and the Utrechtse Heuvelrug on the other, he mainly painted and etched water...
Laid Paper, Etching
$686Sale Price|20% Off
Óleo sobre tela - Retrato de caballero con sombrero
Located in Sant Celoni, ES
Firmado en la parte inferior (desconozco el artista) Se presenta sin enmarcar la pintura El estado de la pintura es aceptable Medidas obra: 58 x 48 cm.
Oil
Les Voila
By Théophile Alexandre Steinlen
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist: Theophile Alexandre Steinlen (Swiss, 1859-1923) Title: Les Voila Year: 1915 Medium: Original lithograph Edition: Numbered 73/100 in pencil Paper: Wove Size image: 16 ...
Lithograph
$600
Elegancia en París - Pastel Drawing, Academic Style, Late 20th Century
Located in Sant Celoni, ES
Firmado en la parte inferior por el artista Se presenta sin enmarcar la obra Medidas obra: 55 cm. de altura x 42 cm. de ancho Buen estado de conservación el de la obra ::::::::::...
Pastel
$760Sale Price|30% Off
On a Ferris wheel - Archival fine art print, Black white, graphical photo
Located in Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona
An archival pigment print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag® Baryta 315 g/m² paper of a photograph by Harry Sutcliffe (1878- 1942) entitled ' On a Ferris wheel ' Graphic scene taken on a Fer...
Black and White, Giclée, Pigment, Archival Pigment, Digital Pigment
$2,500Sale Price|21% Off
“Seaside Picnic”
Located in Southampton, NY
Original oil on canvas painting of a bucolic seaside picnic with a mother and her young children. Signed by the artist, F. G. Grust lower left. Condition is very good. The painting is housed in a period style gold leaf frame in fine condition. Overall framed measurements are 31.5 by 41.75 inches. Provenance: A California estate. F. G. Grust was a Dutch painter born in 1889 who was best known for his domestic interior and exterior scenes of a mother with her young children. He is the son of artist Theordor Grust (1859 - 1909), who also painted Dutch genre...
Canvas, Oil
$1,760Sale Price|20% Off
"The Working Man"
By R.V. Rowe
Located in Southampton, NY
34 x 28 overall Canvas laid down on artist board Signed lower right Overall in gold leaf frame 30x24 inches R.W. Rowe Circa 1970’s
Canvas, Oil
Port. Oil on canvas. 22.7x27.1 cm. Signed on the reverse
Located in Riga, LV
Vernet was born in Avignon. When only fourteen years of age he aided his father, Antoine Vernet (1689–1753), a skilled decorative painter, in the most important parts of his work. Th...
Canvas, Oil
Serene Mountain Landscape, Vintage Oil on Canvas, Signed 24 x 36
Located in New York, NY
Winter Harbor Scene with Boats and Figures Oil on canvas 42 × 58 cm (16.5 × 22.8 in.) A beautifully detailed winter scene by German painter Hermann Meyerheim, depicting a picturesque...
Canvas, Oil
$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
$600Sale Price|20% Off
“Mother and Children”
Located in Southampton, NY
Original watercolor on archival paper of a mother and her children by the Japanese artist, Takashi Nakayama. Signed in watercolor lower left...
Watercolor, Archival Paper
$850Sale Price|29% Off
“Yellow Crested Parrot”
Located in Southampton, NY
Hand colored copper plate engraving from “The History of Birds. Plate 117 published in 1776.. “Yellow Created Parrot” Dedicated to Daniele Farsetti, a well known art collector Veni...
Engraving
$4,200Sale Price|26% Off
"California Sunset"
By Charles Theller Wilson
Located in Southampton, NY
A truly magnificent oil on canvas painting of a sunset off the coast of California in the late 1800's. Signed lower right and in it's original period gold gilt frame which is in excellent condition. Overall it is 33 x 47 inches. Minor stretcher bar wear. Biography Charles Theller Wilson Born in San Francisco, CA on Oct. 10, 1855. Wilson first studied painting with his mother, Agnes (California's earliest known woman artist) and later with Jules Tavernier...
Canvas, Oil
$431Sale Price|20% Off
Italian Woman in Cloak Costume Study Pencil Drawing 19th Century Figure
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title:Italian Woman in Cloak Costume Study Pencil Drawing 19th Century Figure Medium: original graphite pencil drawing on artists paper image size: 13.25 x 10.25 inches (height x wid...
Pencil, Graphite
$340Sale Price|20% Off
“Man with Magic Show”
Located in Southampton, NY
China Trade aquatint engraving. The plate was engraved by Dadley in London after drawings by Pu Qua of Canton and published in 1799 by W. Miller of Bond Street in London. Sight size 11.5 by 9.5 inches. Under glass. Silver leaf frame with wear consistent with age. Overall framed measurements are 13.5 by 11.5 inches. Not examined out of frame. Borghese label verso. Provenance: Sarasota collector. Inscriptions read as follows: Pu-Qua. Canton. Delin. Dadley, London, Sculpt. Published May 4, 1799, by W. Miller, Old Bond Street, London. John Dadley...
Aquatint
$39,996Sale Price|20% Off
Sans titre (1881), James Drummond, R.S.A., F.S.A.
Located in Fairfield, CT
Artist: James Drummond, R.S.A., F.S.A. (1816-1877) Title: Sans titre (1881) Year: 1881 Medium: Oil on canvas Size: 37 x 29 inches Inscription: Hand signed and dated, recto Provenance...
Oil
$6,800Sale Price|20% Off
“Bavarian Flower Girls”
Located in Southampton, NY
Here for your consideration is a vibrant portrait of a pair of Bavarian flower girls in traditional dress. The painting is unlined and has recently been cleaned. Circa 1875. The pain...
Canvas, Oil
Jules Coignet (1798-1860) Lago di Guarda, 1837, fine drawing
Located in Paris, FR
Jules Coignet (1798-1860) Lago di Guarda, 1837, Inscribed "Lago di Guarda 9 8bre 1837" Graphite on paper 24 x 35 cm Framed : 37 x 48 cm Provenance : Galerie Paul Prouté, Autumn 1...
Carbon Pencil
$296Sale Price|25% Off
“The Hunters”
Located in Southampton, NY
Original watercolor with graphite tracings of two hunters in the field by the British artist, George Anderson Short. Signed bottom right. Circa ...
Watercolor, Archival Paper, Graphite
$1,440Sale Price|20% Off
“Portrait of a Head”
Located in Southampton, NY
Late 18th century mixed media portrait of the head of an old man, perhaps the biblical figure Moses. Italian school . Composed of graphite, colored chalk, watercolor and gouache on ...
Chalk, Graphite, Paper, Watercolor, Gouache
$481Sale Price|45% Off
“Moonlight Sail”
Located in Southampton, NY
Beautiful, serene sepia watercolor of a moonlight sail on archival paper attributed to Robert Montgomery. Signed lower left. Condition is excellent. Re...
Watercolor, Archival Paper
'Ballerina in Repose #2, ' by James Cobb, Charcoal and Conte Drawing, 2021
By James Cobb
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
This framed 13.5" x 13.5" charcoal and conté drawing by Oklahoma-based artist James Cobb captures a ballerina in a seated, relaxed pose. The work is drawn o...
Chalk, Conté, Charcoal