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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.  

Find a collection of academic paintings, sculptures, prints and more art on 1stDibs. 

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Style: Academic
The Letter By Georges Croegaert
Located in New Orleans, LA
Georges Croegaert 1848-1923 Belgian The Letter Signed "Georges Croegaert Paris" (lower right) Oil on panel A cardinal pauses while composing a letter in this oil on panel by Belg...
Category

Late 19th Century Academic Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

In the diner
Located in Roma, RM
Antonio Maria Fabrés y Costa (Barcelona 1854 - Rome 1938), In the Restaurant (1880) Oil painting on panel 14 x 21 cm signed and dated on the right.
Category

Late 19th Century Academic Art

Materials

Oil, Board

Landscape By The Mountain Stream
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
MOSNY Henry (19th Century) Landscape by the mountain Stream Oil on canvas signed below and dated 1882 Black and Golden wood Frame Dim canvas : 73 X 92 cm Dim Frame : 94 X 113 cm MOS...
Category

1880s Academic Art

Materials

Oil

Views of the Nile Valley in pair - Orientalist Paintings
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Léon BRARD (1830-1902) Views of The Nile Valley in pair Orientalist paintings Oils on wood signed low right New golden Frames Dim wood (each) : 22 X 41 cm Dim canvas (each) : 40 X 60...
Category

1880s Academic Art

Materials

Oil

French Contemporary Art by Franck Bailleul - Humeur Brouillonne
Located in Paris, IDF
Franck Bailleul is a French painter born in 1964 who lives & works in Abbeville, Normandy, France. He has exhibited nationally as well as in the Unite...
Category

2010s Academic Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

French Contemporary Art by Franck Bailleul - Je Vole
Located in Paris, IDF
Franck Bailleul is a French painter born in 1964 who lives & works in Abbeville, Normandy, France. He has exhibited nationally as well as in the Unite...
Category

2010s Academic Art

Materials

Panel, Oil

French Contemporary Art by Franck Bailleul - Avant l'Orage
Located in Paris, IDF
Franck Bailleul is a French painter born in 1964 who lives & works in Abbeville, Normandy, France. He has exhibited nationally as well as in the United States and China. His works e...
Category

2010s Academic Art

Materials

Panel, Oil

French Contemporary Art by Franck Bailleul - Chapelle Sixtine
Located in Paris, IDF
Artwork located in Los Angeles, USA. Franck Bailleul is a French painter born in 1964 who lives & works in Abbeville, Normandy, France. He has exhibi...
Category

2010s Academic Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

French Contemporary Art by Franck Bailleul - Amour Celeste
Located in Paris, IDF
Artwork located in Los Angeles, USA. Franck Bailleul is a French painter born in 1964 who lives & works in Abbeville, Normandy, France. He has exhibited nationally as well as in th...
Category

2010s Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Biblioteca di Michelozzo a S.Marco, Firenze
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 ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Academic Art

Materials

C Print

Jungle by the River - Original Old painting
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
VON PLESSEN Willy (1868-1937) Jungle by the River - Probably from old german colonies in Africa Oil on wood signed low left Frame gilded with gold leaves Dim canvas : 62 X 50 cm Dim ...
Category

1910s Academic Art

Materials

Oil

The Flight of Sodom and Gomorrah - Entourage of Monsu-Desiderio
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Italian School 17th Century Close to Monsu Desiderio The Flight of Sodom and Gomorrah Oil on canvas Framed with Black wood and golden ornementation Di...
Category

Mid-17th Century Academic Art

Materials

Oil

Street Costumes, Gay Nineties Fashion - Female Illustrator
Located in Miami, FL
Street Costumes by Ruth Kreps. Signed lower right. Most likely for a book published in the 1930's about turn of the century women's fashion. "Costume Design of the Gay Nineties" T...
Category

1930s Academic Art

Materials

Ink, Watercolor, Board

Ballroom Dancers - Charcoal, Figurative, Fabric, Movement, Human Form, British
Located in Knowle Lane, Cranleigh
Ballroom Dancers by Trudy Good. Original Charcoal & Pastel onto paper. Trudy Good is a British figurative painter who has exhibited in numerous plac...
Category

Early 2000s Academic Art

Materials

Charcoal, Pastel

The Farm to the Donkey
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
GARAT Francis (1870 - NC) The Farm of The Donkey Oil on canvas signed and dated 1883 low right Frame guilded Size canvas : 50 X 76 cm - Size frame : 60 X 76 cm GARAT Francis (1870 -...
Category

1880s Academic Art

Materials

Oil

Portrait of a Japanese Woman wearing Traditional Kimono
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Portrait of a Japanese Woman wearing Traditional Kimono Oil on wood panel signed upper right with a japanese ideogram Signature unread Other portrai...
Category

Mid-20th Century Academic Art

Materials

Oil

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

Cleopatra Queen of Egypt 17' century Painting Oil on Canvas
Located in Rome, IT
Amazing painting of Cleopatra oil on canvas with a gilt wood frame. Attributed to Giuseppe Diamantini (Fossombrone 1621-Venice 1705) The dramatic subje...
Category

Late 17th Century Academic Art

Materials

Oil

Landscape from French Provence, Painting 19th Century
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
PONSON Etienne Aimé (1850-1924) French Provence Mediterenean Landscape Oils on canvas in Pair signed low Old frames gilded with leaves Dim canvas (each...
Category

1990s Academic Art

Materials

Oil

GRISAILLE 19th Century - Cherubs asleep
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
GRISAILLE 19th Century (anonymous) Cherubs asleep Part of "Rococo Style" made famous by François Boucher (1703 - 1770) Oil on canvas Circa 1850 Old frame re-gilded Dim canvas : 33 X ...
Category

Mid-19th Century Academic Art

Materials

Oil

GRISAILLE 19th Century - Cherubs Are Playing Music
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
GRISAILLE 19th Century (anonymous) Cherubs asleep Part of "Rococo Style" made famous by François Boucher (1703 - 1770) Oil on canvas Circa 1850 Frame re-gilded Dim canvas : 50 X 70 c...
Category

Mid-19th Century Academic Art

Materials

Oil

Calligraphy 2
Located in Atlanta, GA
Born in 1969 1991, Graduated top of his class at Iranian Society of Calligraphy, Tehran 1993, Graduated from the Wood Industry & Paper-making, Tehran Sol...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Academic Art

Materials

Oil

Central Park Heroic Statue
Located in Miami, FL
Signed and dated on lower right, numbered on verso, 2/15 , other size available, unframed
Category

Academic Art

Materials

Photographic Paper

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

Oil, Canvas

Inca, quebracho wood sculpture by Russian sculptor Stepan Erzia
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Head of an Inca. Quebracho wood. 60cm tall. Signed twice. Dated 1929. First prize (Foreign Artist) in Buenos Aires 1941, catalogue available. Excellent condition.
Category

Mid-20th Century Academic Art

Materials

Wood

Fête de Neuilly by Eugène Galien-Laloue
Located in New Orleans, LA
Eugène Galien-Laloue 1854-1941 I French Fête de Neuilly Signed "E. Galien-Laloue" (lower left) Watercolor, graphite and gouache, heightened with white, on paper, mounted on board ...
Category

20th Century Academic Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor, Gouache, Board, Graphite

Mettlach Crusaders Drinking Stein
Located in Missouri, MO
Villeroy & Boch Mettlach Crusaders Drinking Stein, Late 19th Century Heinrich Schlitt (German, 1849-1923) Model #2122 Stamped and Marked on Bottom Signed along Base Painted Ceramic w...
Category

Late 19th Century Academic Art

Materials

Ceramic, Paint

The Twelve Princesses
Located in New Orleans, LA
The greatest triumph of the artist’s career, this extraordinary and monumental oil on canvas by Gustave-Max Stevens perfectly represents the highly detailed compositions and richly h...
Category

Late 19th Century Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Sandringham - Signed Lithograph, Royal Art, Royal Homes, Sandringham House
Located in Knowle Lane, Cranleigh
Sandringham by HRH Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales - Hand Signed Limited Edition Lithograph. Belgravia Gallery has been honoured to be associated with the artworks of HRH The P...
Category

1990s Academic Art

Materials

Lithograph

Ballochbuie, Balmoral, April - Signed Lithograph, Royal Art, Scotland, forest
Located in Knowle Lane, Cranleigh
Ballochbuie, Balmoral, April by HM King Charles III - Hand Signed Limited Edition Lithograph. Belgravia Gallery has been honoured to be associated with the artworks of HIs Majesty...
Category

Early 2000s Academic Art

Materials

Lithograph

Greek Island, Fishing Boats - Signed Lithograph, Royal Art, Greece, Hills, sea
Located in Knowle Lane, Cranleigh
Greek Island, Fishing Boats by His Majesty King Charles III (created when he was HRH Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales) - Hand Signed Limit...
Category

1990s Academic Art

Materials

Lithograph

Petite Mendiante By William-Adolphe Bouguereau
Located in New Orleans, LA
William Bouguereau French 1825-1905 Petite Mendiante (Little Beggar) Signed “W. Bouguereau 1880” (center left) Oil on canvas William Bouguereau's faithful images of young women a...
Category

19th Century Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Au Bord Du Ruisseau By William-Adolphe Bouguereau
Located in New Orleans, LA
William-Adolphe Bouguereau 1825-1905 French Au Bord du Ruisseau Signed and dated “W-Bouguereau-1888” (upper left) Oil on Canvas “Bouguereau’s paintings of children allowed for th...
Category

19th Century Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Tetbury Church - Signed Lithograph, Royal Art, king Charles, Cotswolds
Located in Knowle Lane, Cranleigh
Tetbury Church by His Majesty King Charles III - Hand Signed Limited Edition Lithograph. Belgravia Gallery has been honoured to be associated with ...
Category

1990s Academic Art

Materials

Lithograph

Young girl from Tetouan, Morocco
Located in New Orleans, LA
Young girl from Tetouan, Morocco Signed (center right) Oil on canvas In this important oil on canvas, French Orientalist painter Charles Landelle captures the engaging visage of a young Moroccan woman in a moment of tranquil contemplation. Seated on the floor of what is almost certainly an opulent riad, the young woman wears an intricately embroidered Moroccan kaftan and headdress. The sumptuous patterns on the floor and in the background lend an additional warmth to the strikingly vivid red hues which dominate the composition and are a hallmark of Landelle’s work. The symbols behind the young woman may represent either the Jewish Star of David or the Islamic Seal...
Category

Late 19th Century Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

La Danse pyrrhique (Pyrrhic Dance)
Located in New Orleans, LA
This painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme entitled La Danse pyrrhique is among the most fascinating compositions ever composed by the Academic master’s hand. Gérôme’s iconic scenes of the East captivated a generation, and this work showcases all of the artist’s unparalleled talents. Set in the Ptolemaic period of Ancient Egypt, its depiction of the ritual Pyrrhic dance is vivid and striking. Beautifully painted and rich with detail, it represents the best of Gérôme’s famed Orientalist scenes. In La Danse pyrrhique, Gérôme gives us a dramatic rendering of this ancient war dance. Greek in origin, it was performed by costumed dancers armed with swords who completed a series of movements set to music pantomiming combat. Homer wrote that Achilles performed this dance in a show of respect and grief at the funeral of his friend, Patroclus. When Julius Caesar introduced it to the Roman Games, its popularity spread across the Roman Empire to include Egypt, where Gérôme’s composition is set. Gérôme visited Egypt for the first time in 1856, and he returned throughout the late 19th century when this work was created. Gérôme’s first-hand familiarity with this setting is evident in this piece, and his visual narrative is unlike any other. His paintings combine the rationalist style of historical paintings and the theatrical...
Category

19th Century Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The Crossing
Located in New York, NY
The Crossing, 1855, by Theodore Frere (1814-1888) Oil on wood panel 9 x 14 inches unframed (22.86 x 35.56 cm) 17 ¾ x 22 ½ inches framed (45.085 x 57.15 cm...
Category

19th Century Academic Art

Materials

Oil

Departure of the Caravan
Located in New York, NY
Departure of the Caravan, 1834-1887, by Theodore Frere (1814-1888) Oil on wood 10 x 16 inches unframed (25.4 x 40.64 cm) 18 ¾ x 24 ¾ inches framed (47.625 x 62.865 cm) Signed on bott...
Category

19th Century Academic Art

Materials

Oil

Balmoral - Signed Lithograph, Royal Art, Royal Homes, Balmoral Castle, British
Located in Knowle Lane, Cranleigh
Balmoral by His Majesty King Charles III (formerly known as HRH Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales) - Hand Signed Limited Edition Lithograph. Belgravia Gallery has been honoured to be associated with the artworks of HRH The Prince of Wales for over 25 years. Anna Hunter, gallery owner, wrote a handwritten letter to the Prince asking him if he would consider making signed lithographs from his beautiful watercolours which could be sold in aid of his charities. The gallery subsequently worked with the Prince for over 10 years publishing some 18 different editions and raising over £4million for the Prince’s Charitable Foundation. Lithographs were made from the Prince’s original watercolours under the guidance of Stanley Jones – a celebrated printmaker who had previously worked with Henry Moore for 30 years, and with Elizabeth Frink, David Hockney and others. Each one is hand-signed. “…One thing I have discovered in the course of my painting efforts is that Balmoral Castle...
Category

1990s Academic Art

Materials

Lithograph

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

Highgrove - Signed Lithograph, Royal Art, Royal Homes, Highgrove House, British
Located in Knowle Lane, Cranleigh
Highgrove by His Majesty King Charles III - Hand Signed Limited Edition Lithograph. Belgravia Gallery has been honoured to be associate...
Category

Early 2000s Academic Art

Materials

Lithograph

Windsor Castle - Signed Lithograph, Royal Art, Royal Homes, Architecture
Located in Knowle Lane, Cranleigh
Windsor Castle by HM King Charles III - Hand Signed Limited Edition Lithograph. Belgravia Gallery has been honoured to be associated with the artwo...
Category

1990s Academic Art

Materials

Lithograph

Windsor Castle North Aspect - Signed Lithograph, Royal Art, Royal Home, British
Located in Knowle Lane, Cranleigh
Windsor Castle by His Majesty King Charles III - Hand Signed Limited Edition Lithograph. Belgravia Gallery has been honoured to be asso...
Category

1990s Academic Art

Materials

Lithograph

Glengairn, Aberdeenshire - Signed Lithograph, Royal Art, Scotland, British
Located in Knowle Lane, Cranleigh
Glengairn, Aberdeenshire, January by His Majesty King Charles III - Hand Signed Limited Edition Lithograph. Belgravia Gallery has been ...
Category

Early 2000s Academic Art

Materials

Lithograph

Wensleydale - Signed Lithograph, Royal Art, Yorkshire, British Landscape, Dales
Located in Knowle Lane, Cranleigh
Wensleydale by His Majesty King Charles III - Hand Signed Limited Edition Lithograph. Belgravia Gallery has been honoured to be associat...
Category

1990s Academic Art

Materials

Lithograph

Wensleydale from Moorcock - Signed Lithograph, Royal Art, Yorkshire, Landscape
Located in Knowle Lane, Cranleigh
Wensleydale from Moorcock by His Majesty King Charles III (created when he was HRH Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales) - Hand Signed Lim...
Category

1990s Academic Art

Materials

Lithograph

Klosters - Signed Lithograph, Royal Art, Switzerland, Mountains, Hüreli, Skiing
Located in Knowle Lane, Cranleigh
The Hüreli, Klosters, Switzerland by His Majesty King Charles III (created when he was HRH Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales) - Hand Si...
Category

1990s Academic Art

Materials

Lithograph

Ben Avon - Signed Lithograph, Royal Art, Scotland, British, Braemar, Mountains
Located in Knowle Lane, Cranleigh
Ben Avon, Near Braemar, January by His Majesty King Charles III (created when he was HRH Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales) - Hand Sign...
Category

Early 2000s Academic Art

Materials

Lithograph

Balmoral Winter Scene - Signed Lithograph, Royal Art, Scotland, king charles III
Located in Knowle Lane, Cranleigh
Balmoral Winter Scene by His Majesty King Charles III (created when he was HRH Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales) - Hand Signed Limited...
Category

Early 2000s Academic Art

Materials

Lithograph

Overlooking Wadi, Saudi Arabia - Signed Lithograph, Royal Art, Mountains, Asir
Located in Knowle Lane, Cranleigh
Overlooking Wadi, Asir Province, Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia by His Majesty King Charles III, (created when he was HRH The Prince of Wales) - ...
Category

Early 2000s Academic Art

Materials

Lithograph

Hong Kong from HMY Britannia - Signed Lithograph, Royal Art, Union Jack,
Located in Knowle Lane, Cranleigh
Hong Kong From HMY Britannia by HM King Charles III - Hand Signed Limited Edition Lithograph. Belgravia Gallery has been honoured to be associated ...
Category

Early 2000s Academic Art

Materials

Lithograph

Rosetta
Located in New York, NY
Oil on canvas Signed This painting is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. “Tohu-bohu” is a series of paintings by French-American painter John Bailly that explores the o...
Category

Early 2000s Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Los Hermanos Islets
Located in New York, NY
Oil on canvas Signed This painting is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. “When two worlds collide, mayhem or genius can ensue. Consider the freestyle fellowship that ha...
Category

Early 2000s Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Paris
Located in New York, NY
Mixed media on paper Signed This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. “When two worlds collide, mayhem or genius can ensue. Consider the freestyle fellowship t...
Category

Early 2000s Academic Art

Materials

Mixed Media

Miami
Located in New York, NY
Mixed media on paper Signed This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. “When two worlds collide, mayhem or genius can ensue. Consider the freestyle fellowship t...
Category

Early 2000s Academic Art

Materials

Mixed Media

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

Biblioteca Real Gabinete de Leitura, Rio De Janeiro-Brasile
Located in New York, NY
Biblioteca Real Gabinete de Leitura, Rio De Janeiro-Brasile 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....
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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