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Academic Art

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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
Biblioteca di Michelozzo a S.Marco, Firenze

Biblioteca di Michelozzo a S.Marco, Firenze

By Massimo Listri

Located in New York, NY

Biblioteca di Michelozzo a S.Marco, Firenze, 2009 C-print Signed, titled, dated and numbered edition of 5 on artist's label on verso. The photographer is based in Florence, and is f...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Academic Art

Materials

C Print

Pathos
Pathos

Pathos

Located in New York, NY

A sensuous and fabulous piece to enjoy in the round as every vantage point is attractive or on a shelf or table. In the 19th century, the Italians and French were in a golden era f...

Category

1890s Academic Art

Materials

Bronze

Landscape, Paysage aux Bories
Landscape, Paysage aux Bories

Landscape, Paysage aux Bories

By Pierre Lavarenne

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist: Pierre Lavarenne (French, born 1928) Title: Landscape, Paysage aux Bories Year: Circa 1975 Medium: Oil on canvas Canvas size: 15 x 18.25 inches Signature: Signed lo...

Category

Late 20th Century Academic Art

Materials

Oil

“Villagers”
“Villagers”

“Villagers”

Located in Southampton, NY

Original watercolor with graphite tracings by the well known German artist, Peter Von Halm. Signed in pencil lower right. Condition is good. Several tiny foxing spots with small areas of mild wrinkles on the outer corners. Matted but not framed. He was the son of an innkeeper and brewer. Initially, he wanted to become an architect and, in pursuit of that goal, attended the Technische Universität Darmstadt. After 1875, he studied copper engraving with Johann Leonhard Raab and general art subjects with Ludwig von Löfftz, at the Munich Academy. From 1883 to 1885, he lived in Berlin at the invitation of his friend, Karl Stauffer-Bern, where he created graphic versions of the Old Masters for Wilhelm von Bode...

Category

1880s Academic Art

Materials

Watercolor, Archival Paper, Graphite

Istambul View with characters
Istambul View with characters

Istambul View with characters

Located in Saint-Ouen, FR

Alfredo CALDINI (1917 - NC) View of Istambul with Characters Oil on canvas signed low left Old frame regilded with gold leaves Size canvas : 46 X 65 cm...

Category

1950s Academic Art

Materials

Oil

Black-Headed Gull
Black-Headed Gull

John DuncanBlack-Headed Gull, 1902

$1,920Sale Price|20% Off

Black-Headed Gull

By John Duncan

Located in Southampton, NY

In original gold leaf pierced frame Signed and dated lower left 1902 Sight size 6 x 8 in

Category

Early 1900s Academic Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

“House by the Lake”
“House by the Lake”

“House by the Lake”

Located in Southampton, NY

Finely executed watercolor and gouache landscape with figures by the Swiss artist, Louise Clauseau (Swiss). Signed under the mat by the artist and dated June, 1852. The watercolor ...

Category

1850s Academic Art

Materials

Watercolor, Gouache, Archival Paper

18th century etching figurative royalty wedding scene print black and white
18th century etching figurative royalty wedding scene print black and white

18th century etching figurative royalty wedding scene print black and white

By Alexander Runciman

Located in Milwaukee, WI

"The Marriage of Saint Margaret and King Malcolm" is an etching by Scottish artist Alexander Runciman. There is an engraved signature with the artist's monogram followed by "pinxit et fecit," indicating that Runciman both designed the original drawing and likely executed the etching on the metal plate. On the left, a young woman with a halo in fine dress stoops slightly and gathers her skirts as she leans over to accept the ring that the man on the right is reaching to place upon her finger. He is also young, dressed finely, and wearing a crown. Between them, a church official with a pointed hat and a long flowing beard recites the appropriate prayers for the occasion, while onlookers crowd in the background. The tiled floor demonstrates the use of one-point perspective, and the church appears to be in the Gothic style. Art size: 8 3/4" x 7 1/4" Frame size: 26 1/2" x 22 3/8" Alexander Runciman (Edinburgh 15 August 1736 – 4 October 1785 Edinburgh) was a Scottish painter of historical and mythological subjects. He was the elder brother of John Runciman, also a painter. He was born in Edinburgh, and studied at the Foulis Academy, Glasgow, and from 1750 to 1762 he was apprenticed to the landscape painter Robert Norie, later becoming a partner in the Norie family firm. He also worked as a stage painter for the Theatre Royal in Edinburgh. In 1767, he went to Rome, where he spent five years. His brother John accompanied him, but died in Naples in the winter of 1768–69. During Runciman's stay in Italy he became acquainted with other artists such as Henry Fuseli and the sculptor Johan Tobias Sergel...

Category

1770s Academic Art

Materials

Etching

“Cottage”
“Cottage”

“Cottage”

Located in Southampton, NY

Graphite and watercolor on paper stock drawing by the Russian Federation artist, Carl Ivanovitch Kollmann. Circa 1830. Condition: Good. Actual drawing diameter is 6.5 inches. Impr...

Category

1830s Academic Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor, Graphite

"Still Life with Figure"
"Still Life with Figure"

"Still Life with Figure"

By John T. Axton

Located in Southampton, NY

This painting is an oil on canvas mounted to a wood panel. It is signed with his monogram signature JTA lower right. The work is unframed. Axton was born in Fort Leavenworth, Kan...

Category

1980s Academic Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Musei Vaticani XIV, Scala Simonetti

Musei Vaticani XIV, Scala Simonetti

By Massimo Listri

Located in New York, NY

Musei Vaticani XIV, Scala Simonetti 2011 Massimo Listri is based in Florence, and is fascinated how his architectural subject matter allows him to control the composition of his ima...

Category

1990s Academic Art

Materials

C Print

Rescued - Archival fine art print, Black white, Montreal, City Vintage photo
Rescued - Archival fine art print, Black white, Montreal, City Vintage photo

Rescued - Archival fine art print, Black white, Montreal, City Vintage photo

Located in Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona

An archival pigment print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag® Baryta 315 g/m² paper, a photography of a street scene featuring a man on a Side-car, in Montreal cerca 1930 entitled ' Rescued ' ....

Category

1920s Academic Art

Materials

Black and White, Giclée, Pigment, Archival Pigment, Digital Pigment

Provocative 19th Century Folk Art painting of a young boy holding thorny flowers
Provocative 19th Century Folk Art painting of a young boy holding thorny flowers

Provocative 19th Century Folk Art painting of a young boy holding thorny flowers

Located in Colfax, CA

A great 19th century folk art painting of a young boy posed, carefully holding thorny flowers between two fingers. His belt buckle has initials monogrammed, the last being an 'A' pos...

Category

19th Century Academic Art

Materials

Oil

Relaxing - people walking , Panoramic Archival fine art print, Black white photo
Relaxing - people walking , Panoramic Archival fine art print, Black white photo

Relaxing - people walking , Panoramic Archival fine art print, Black white 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 ' Relaxing ' Scene of a riverside stroll near a po...

Category

1930s Academic Art

Materials

Black and White, Giclée, Pigment, Archival Pigment, Digital Pigment

Pierce Arrow - Archival fine art print, Black white, Car dealer's shop window
Pierce Arrow - Archival fine art print, Black white, Car dealer's shop window

Pierce Arrow - Archival fine art print, Black white, Car dealer's shop window

Located in Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona

An archival pigment print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag® Baryta 315 g/m² paper of a photograph of a former car dealer's shop window of the brand Pierce Arrow cerca 1925 entitled ' Pierce A...

Category

1920s Academic Art

Materials

Black and White, Giclée, Pigment, Archival Pigment, Digital Pigment

Pair of Miner Bookends
Pair of Miner Bookends

Pair of Miner Bookends

By Max Kalish

Located in New York, NY

Max Kalish was an important and highly collected American sculptor desired for his depictions of the working man. Here we see a miner taking a break. Kalish was adept at conveying ...

Category

1920s Academic Art

Materials

Bronze

"VALMY! (L'Estampe Moderne), " Lithograph after Drawing by Adolphe Willette
"VALMY! (L'Estampe Moderne), " Lithograph after Drawing by Adolphe Willette

"VALMY! (L'Estampe Moderne), " Lithograph after Drawing by Adolphe Willette

By Adolphe Willette

Located in Milwaukee, WI

"VALMY! (L'Estampe Moderne)" is a print watermarked PL BAS after a drawing by Adolphe Willette. It depicts a general with his army and a young girl. 15 3/4" x 12" art 23" x 19 1/4" frame Adolphe Léon Willette (30 July 1857 – 4 February 1926) was a French painter, illustrator, caricaturist, and lithographer, as well as an architect of the famous Moulin Rouge cabaret. Willette ran as an "anti-semitic" candidate in the 9th arrondisement of Paris for the September 1889 legislative elections. Biography Willette was born in Châlons-sur-Marne. He studied for four years at the École des Beaux-Arts under Cabanel, training which gave him a unique position among the graphic humorists of France. Whether comedy or tragedy, dainty triviality or political satire, his work is instinct with the profound sincerity of the artist. He set Pierrot upon a lofty pedestal among the imaginary heroes of France, and established Mimi Pinson, frail, lovable, and essentially good-hearted, in the affections of the nation. Willette is at once the modern Watteau of the pencil, and the exponent of sentiments that move the more emotional section of the public. Always a poet, and usually gay, fresh, and delicate, in his presentation of idylls exquisitely dainty and characteristically Gallic, illustrating the more "charming" side of love, often pure and sometimes extremely materialistic. Willette frequently reveals himself bitter and fierce, even ferocious, in his hatreds, being a violent though at the same time a generous partisan of political ideas, furiously compassionate with love and pity for the people whether they be ground down under the heel of political oppression, or are merely the victims ot unrequited love, suffering all the pangs of graceful anguish that are born of scornful treatment. There is charm even in his thrilling apotheosis of the guillotine, and in the introduction into his caricatures of the figure of Death itself. The artist was a prolific contributor to the French illustrated press under the pseudonyms "Cemoi", "Pierrot", "Louison", "Bebe", and "Nox", but more often under his own name. He illustrated Melandri's Les Pierrots and Les Giboulles d'avril, Le Courrier français, and published his own Pauvre Pierrot and other works, in which he tells his stories in scenes in the manner of Busch. He decorated several "brasseries artistiques" with wall-paintings, stained glass, &c., notably Le Chat noir and La Palette d'or, and he painted the highly imaginative ceiling for La Cigale...

Category

1890s Academic Art

Materials

Black and White

French Contemporary Art by Pascal Plazanet - Provençale No. 20
French Contemporary Art by Pascal Plazanet - Provençale No. 20

French Contemporary Art by Pascal Plazanet - Provençale No. 20

By Pascal Plazanet

Located in Paris, IDF

Rapidography & watercolor on canvas Pascal Plazanet is a French artist born in 1963 who lives and works in Paris, France. For more 30 years, he constantly uses rapidograph pens in his artworks on paper or onto canvas. The rapidograph is a special pen with a capillary tubular tip in which flows a black pigment, an ancient drawing...

Category

1990s Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Watercolor

Peonies in a Blue Vase
Peonies in a Blue Vase

Peonies in a Blue Vase

Located in Mc Lean, VA

One of three still-life paintings by the French flower painter Germain-Theodore Ribot.

Category

Late 19th Century Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Old John
Old John

Old John

Located in New York, NY

Extraordinary that a few women prevailed in the difficult world of casting in bronze in America but Lillie was one of them. There is scant information on her but this marvelous head...

Category

1930s Academic Art

Materials

Bronze

French Contemporary Art by Pascal Plazanet - Place des Vosges

French Contemporary Art by Pascal Plazanet - Place des Vosges

By Pascal Plazanet

Located in Paris, IDF

Rapidography & ink on paper Pascal Plazanet is a French artist born in 1963 who lives and works in Paris, France. For more 30 years, he constantly uses rapidograph pens in his artworks on paper or onto canvas. The rapidograph is a special pen with a capillary tubular tip in which flows a black pigment, an ancient drawing...

Category

1990s Academic Art

Materials

Paper, Ink

Pair of  Neoclassical  Terracotta  Bust of Emperor Caracalla and Cicero
Pair of  Neoclassical  Terracotta  Bust of Emperor Caracalla and Cicero

Pair of Neoclassical Terracotta Bust of Emperor Caracalla and Cicero

Located in Rome, IT

Pair of 19' century Italian Marble imitation painted Terracotta . Bust of Emperor Caracalla and Cicero . Measurements : cm 71 H x 60 Available also a pair marble imitation colum...

Category

1870s Academic Art

Materials

Terracotta

Benoit Fils - Archival fine art print, Black white, Montreal, Clydesdale truck
Benoit Fils - Archival fine art print, Black white, Montreal, Clydesdale truck

Benoit Fils - Archival fine art print, Black white, Montreal, Clydesdale truck

Located in Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona

An archival pigment print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag® Baryta 315 g/m² paper, a photography of a delivery of foodstuffs from a shop of seeds, flour and provisions in Montreal cerca 1920 ...

Category

1920s Academic Art

Materials

Black and White, Giclée, Pigment, Archival Pigment, Digital Pigment

Dr Decarie - Archival fine art print, Black white, Montreal, Phillips square
Dr Decarie - Archival fine art print, Black white, Montreal, Phillips square

Dr Decarie - Archival fine art print, Black white, Montreal, Phillips square

Located in Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona

An archival pigment print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag® Baryta 315 g/m² paper of a photograph of a street corner in Montreal cerca Valentin's day 1925 entitled ' Dr Decarie ' Unframed ...

Category

1920s Academic Art

Materials

Black and White, Giclée, Pigment, Archival Pigment, Digital Pigment

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.