Geo Franco
Antique 1870s French Classical Roman Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
People Also Browsed
20th Century American Art Deco Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Enamel
Early 20th Century American American Classical Sterling Silver
Sterling Silver
Antique 19th Century Japanese Meiji Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
Antique Early 1900s French Louis XVI Bergere Chairs
Ormolu
1940s American Impressionist Landscape Paintings
Panel, Oil
Antique 1890s French Louis XV Commodes and Chests of Drawers
Marble, Bronze
Early 20th Century Dinner Plates
Porcelain
Antique 19th Century English George IV Center Tables
Ormolu
Early 20th Century French Vases
Spelter
Antique Late 19th Century French Louis XVI Vases
Porphyry, Ormolu
Antique 19th Century Unknown Rococo Fireplace Tools and Chimney Pots
Bronze, Ormolu
Antique Early 19th Century Chinese Vases
Rock Crystal
Antique 19th Century French Neoclassical Wall Clocks
Bronze, Enamel, Ormolu
Antique Early 19th Century English Regency Convex Mirrors
Giltwood, Mercury Glass
Antique 19th Century British Rococo Candle Holders
Agate, Silver
Antique 1830s Italian Neoclassical Busts
Marble
Recent Sales
Late 19th Century Academic Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Ink
Late 19th Century Academic Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Late 19th Century Academic Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Carbon Pencil, Watercolor
Late 19th Century Academic Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Carbon Pencil
Late 19th Century Academic Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Late 19th Century Academic Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Late 19th Century Academic Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Late 19th Century Academic Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Late 19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Oil
Late 19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Oil
Late 19th Century Academic Figurative Paintings
Oil
A Close Look at academic Art
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.