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
“Flying South”
Located in Southampton, NY
Original oil on canvas painting of Canadian geese flying south under a twilight sky. Beautiful
light reflection in the water below Signed lower right and attributed to Alice Roge...
Category
1950s Academic Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Henry Robert Robertson, Ave Maria, Etching
By Henry Robert Robertson
Located in Cheltenham, GB
This fine late 19th-century etching by British artist Henry Robert Robertson (1839-1921) depicts a couple worshipping a shrine to the Virgin Mary at sea. The original painting was ex...
Category
19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Paper, Etching
Hawk
By Kono Bairei
Located in Florham Park, NJ
Kono Bairei (1844 – 1895)
Kacho-ga. (Birds and Flowers)
Japan, c1880
Woodblock Print.
15 x 11.
Okura Magobei, Publisher.
The enthusiasm for nature prints transcends the centuries. “One Hundred Flowers” is a mid-nineteenth century work illustrating varieties of flowers in naturalistic styles. Traditional woodblock printing enhances the beauty of each work. The artist must carve different woodblocks for every color he wishes to transfer to paper. In this style of printing it is imperative that the register of each woodblock be exact as they must match perfectly to create an image without blurring.
In addition to his illustrated flower books...
Category
Late 19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Woodcut, Watercolor
Italian Mid 19th century White Carrara Marble bust. Portrait of young male.
Located in Firenze, IT
Italian Portrait White Marble Bust in a Heroic Attitude.
Carrara statuary Marble.
Tuscan school.
Circa 1850.
Bust depicting a young man with bare shoulders.
This model draws inspira...
Category
Mid-19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Marble
Sukotyro Sus (Warthog)
By John Wilkes
Located in Florham Park, NJ
JOHN WILKES (1750-1810)
Encyclopedia Londinensis
London, 1801-1828
Copper Plate Engraving
Original Hand-Color
9” x11” Unframed
At its best, the zoological art of the early n...
Category
Early 19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Engraving
The Connoisseur By Georges Croegaert
Located in New Orleans, LA
Georges Croegaert
1848-1923 Belgian
The Connoisseur
Signed "Georges Croegaert Paris" (lower right)
Oil on panel
A Cardinal peers through a magnifying glass at gilded treasures in...
Category
19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Oil, Panel
Still life of summer flowers with portrait of a woman
Located in PARIS, FR
Marius VASSELON
Saint-Etienne, 1841 - Paris, 1924
Still life of summer flowers with portrait of a woman
Painting, oil on canvas
Signed and dated 1864 lower left
Painting: 50 x 60 cm ...
Category
19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Oil
Return Of Columbus In Chains To Cadiz By Emanuel Leutze
Located in New Orleans, LA
Emanuel Leutze
1816-1868 American
Return of Columbus in Chains to Cadiz
Signed E. Leutze / Philadelphia (lower right)
Oil on canvas
Painted by the artist in 1842, this masterpiec...
Category
19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Portrait of a woman, Tasie
Located in PARIS, FR
Jean Jules Antoine LECOMTE DU NOÜY
Paris, 1842 - Paris, 1923
Portrait of a woman, Tasie
Painting, oil on wood
Signed, titled and dated 1876: "Tasie / Lecomte du Nouy / 76"
Painting: ...
Category
1870s Academic Art
Materials
Oil
Summer Valley, Impressionism 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: 2024
Style: Impressionism
Title: Summer Valley,
Size: 9" x 13.5" x 0...
Category
2010s Academic Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
The Little Ballerina
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Alphonse PELLET (1853-1926)
The Little Ballerina
Oil on wood panel signed low right
Old frame regilded with leaves
Size panel : 30 X 43 cm - Size frame : 40 X 55 cm
Alphonse PELLET...
Category
1880s Academic Art
Materials
Oil
British mid century watercolour and pen drawing of black and tan terrier dogs
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Mona Alizon Edmonds (British, circa 1944)
Black and tan terriers
Watercolour on paper
Signed, inscribed and dated ‘Black and tan terriers (minature) Dogs and Bitch. AM Edmonds. 19...
Category
20th Century Academic Art
Materials
Watercolor, Pencil
Fair scene with actors
Located in PARIS, FR
French school circa 1815
Fair scene with actors
Painting, oil on wood
Unsigned
Painting: 20 x 27 cm
Period frame: 30 x 36.5 cm
Very good condition
Category
Early 19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Oil
Echoes 2 - painting Paula Craioveanu oil on canvas
Located in Forest Hills, NY
Echoes 2
Composition with Two Female Nudes, oil on canvas, 35.5x19.5in / 90x50cm
Part of WIngs of Gods, solo show.
Shipped as it is, stretched, directly from the artist's studio.
Category
2010s Academic Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Preparatory anatomical study for the figure of a man with hands on his face.
Located in Firenze, IT
Preparatory anatomical study for the figure of a man with hands on his face.
Drawing of a medium-sized male nude.
From the 19th century
Drawing on slightly greyish colored paper.
In ...
Category
Late 19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Gesso, Paper, Charcoal, Carbon Pencil
Composition with Two Male Nudes - painting Paula Craioveanu oil on canvas
Located in Forest Hills, NY
"Composition with Two Male Nudes", oil and silver leaf on canvas, 35.5x23.5in / 90x60cm
Part of my Male Nude series.
Shipped as it is, stretched, directly from the artist's studio.
Category
2010s Academic Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Canterbury Gate Cathedral
By Preston Cribb
Located in New York, NY
Preston Cribb (English, 1876-1937) "Canterbury Gate Cathedral", Etching titled and signed in Pencil, 13.63 x 9.50 Framed (Image: 9.50 x 5.25), Early to Mid 20th Century
Colors: Bla...
Category
Mid-20th Century Academic Art
Materials
Etching
“Clipper under Full Sail”
Located in Southampton, NY
Very well executed oil on academy board by the well known American marine and portrait painter, Sam Sargent. Signed lower left “S. Sargent”. Signed verso, “Newburyport Studio, S. Sa...
Category
1930s Academic Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Passeggiata a cavallo a Trieste
Located in Roma, RM
Alfredo Tominz (Trieste 1854 – 1936), Passeggiata a cavallo a Trieste
Dipinto ad olio su tela di cm 69 x 110 firmato e datato 1890 in basso a destra.
Provenienza: Asta Stadion Trie...
Category
Late 19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Lady in paris Street 1900
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
LEBAS Léonie (19th-20th)
"Lady in Paris Street 1900"
Oil on wood panel signed low right
Old Frame regilded with gold leaves
Dim panel : 16 X 22 cm
Dim frame : 50 X 41 cm
LEBAS Léoni...
Category
1890s Academic Art
Materials
Oil
Portrait Painting Oil on Canvas by Joseph Badger
Located in Rome, IT
Joseph Badger (c. 1707–1765) was a portrait artist in Boston, Massachusetts, in the 18th century.
This amazing painting depicting a young boy with a bird.
oil on canvas cm 93 x73...
Category
18th Century Academic Art
Materials
Oil
The Love Letter
Located in Washington, DC
Signed and dated '1884' lower right
Category
1880s Academic Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
British mid century watercolour and pen drawing of black and tan terrier dogs
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Mona Alizon Edmonds (British, circa 1944)
The black and tans day
Inscribed with title, signed and dated ‘May 1944 M. Alizon Edmonds.’ (lower edge)
Pencil, watercolour and body colour...
Category
20th Century Academic Art
Materials
Watercolor, Pencil
German Shepard
By Diana Thorne
Located in Florham Park, NJ
Diana Thorne’s Dogs: An Album of Drawings.
Diana Thorne.
Julian Messner, Inc.
New York, 1944.
24 Drawings in Lithography.
“In drawing them,” she writes, “I have tried to ma...
Category
1920s Academic Art
Materials
Lithograph
French school Drawing 18th Portrait Ténor SAINT AUBIN three chalks Paris Opéra
Located in PARIS, FR
French school of the 18th century
Three pencils (pencil, red chalk, white chalk) on paper
27 x 18 cm (45 x 34 cm with frame)
Inscription at bottom “Saint-Aubin de l’Académie de musique”
Dated "1785"
Augustin d'Herbez known as "Saint-Aubin" was a tenor and member of the Royal Academy of Music...
Category
1780s Academic Art
Materials
Carbon Pencil, Paper, Chalk
Roman and Arabic Numerals (Numbers)
By Owen Jones
Located in Florham Park, NJ
ONE THOUSAND AND ONE INITIAL LETTERS
Owen Jones (1806-1889)
Day & Sons
London, 1864
Chromolithographs
One Thousand and One Initial Letters playfully describes an artistic e...
Category
Mid-19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Lithograph
Portrait of woman
Located in PARIS, FR
French School of the 18th century
Woman portrait
Pastel on paper mounted on canvas
Pastel: 46.5 x 63 cm (18.3 x 24.8 inches)
Frame: 57 x 71 cm (22.4 x 28 inches)
Very good condition
...
Category
1770s Academic Art
Materials
Pastel
Small Oil Painting From 1902 Called Birch Trees by the Stream
Located in Stockholm, SE
This enchanting painting called Birch Trees by the Stream by Alfred Thörne captures the serene beauty of a small forest scene, measuring just 27 x 17 cm. The artwork is a testament t...
Category
Early 1900s Academic Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Study for “The Artist’s Studio” 1820, Horace Vernet (French 1789-1820)
Located in Sydney, NSW
Horace Vernet (French 1789-1863), Study for “The Artist’s Studio” 1820.
This is a charming detailed pen and ink study for “Vernet’s The Artist’s Studio” which was painted in 1820. I...
Category
19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Paper, Ink
British mid century watercolour and pen drawing of children at a zoo with monkey
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Mona Alizon Edmonds (British, 1911 – 1983)
Unfinished monkey business, 1944
Pen and watercolour
11.3/8 x 11.3/8 in. (28.7 x 28.7 cm.)
Category
20th Century Academic Art
Materials
Watercolor, Pen
Study of a Hound Dog. Circa 1782. Louis Auguste Brun (Swiss 1758-1815)
Located in Sydney, NSW
Louis Auguste Brun (Swiss 1758-1815), Study of a Hound Dog. Circa 1782.
A skilled draughtsman and an outstanding painter of portraits, animals and landscapes, the Swiss artist Louis-...
Category
18th Century Academic Art
Materials
Chalk, Laid Paper
Gondolier (Figurative Painting of Man in Venice by Mark Beard, Bruce Sargeant)
By Mark Beard
Located in Hudson, NY
Academic style figurative oil painting of a muscular male gondolier with Venice's St. Mark's Campanile in the background
"Gondolier" painted by Mark Beard as Bruce Sargeant (pseudony...
Category
2010s Academic Art
Materials
Oil, Canvas
British mid century pen drawing 'Bird's eye view' by Mona Alizon Edwards
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Mona Alizon Edmonds (British, circa 1944)
Birds Eye View
Pen on paper
9.7/8 x 10 in. (25.3 x 25.5 cm.)
Category
20th Century Academic Art
Materials
Pen
English School 19th Century, Julia Matthews in ‘The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein’
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
A highly decorative and whimsical study of ‘The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein’ starring Julia Matthews as the title role, first shown in 1867. La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein is an ...
Category
19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Ink, Watercolor, Pen
Polo Player Bookends in Bronze
Located in Brookville, NY
Polo Bookends in bronze for the sporty library. These were purchased from the collection of a polo player on Long Island who had a beautiful library of sporting books. He also owne...
Category
1960s Academic Art
Materials
Bronze
Bozzetto Accademico della Testa di un Cherubino.
Located in Firenze, IT
Bozzetto Accademico della Testa di un Cherubino.
Disegno a carboncino e gessetto bianco su carta leggermente colorata di grigio.
Seconda metà dell'Ottocento
In buone condizioni.
Prov...
Category
19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Paper, Chalk, Pencil
Plate 1838. Cycad
Located in Florham Park, NJ
This piece would pair well with "Plate 1851. Cycad." by William Curtis which is also listed.
WILLIAM CURTIS.
The Botanical Magazine.
Engravings with original hand-color.
9.5” x 5...
Category
18th Century and Earlier Academic Art
Materials
Watercolor, Rag Paper, Plexiglass, Handmade Paper, Archival Tape, Archiv...
Oedipus and Antigone, study of heads
Located in PARIS, FR
Neoclassical school circa 1800-10
Oedipus and Antigone, study of heads
Painting, oil on spun wood panel
Unsigned
Painting: 33 x 42 cm (13 x 16.5 inches)
Beautiful original frame: 44....
Category
Early 19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Oil
"Horse Sketch 1" study of an Alfred Munnings painting, brown and earth tones
By Amy Florence
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
"Horse Sketch 1" is Amy Florence's study of an Alfred Munnings painting, one of her favorite artists.
Artist Bio
Amy Florence is a London born artist working out of her studio in F...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Academic Art
Materials
Oil, Panel, Wood Panel, Board
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 subject of the painting depicts th...
Category
Late 17th Century Academic Art
Materials
Oil
Woman smoking pencil drawing
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Frame size 74x61 cm.
Category
1950s Academic Art
Materials
Pencil
1900s French Atelier Life Drawing Academic Sculpture of Male Nude Figure
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Life study drawing
original atelier drawing
by the French artist, Jeanne Nachat (1898-1984)
Nachat attended the prestigious Académie des Beaux-Arts in Pa...
Category
Early 20th Century Academic Art
Materials
Pencil, Charcoal
"Horse Sketch 2" study of an Alfred Munnings painting, brown and earth tones
By Amy Florence
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
"Horse Sketch 2" is Amy Florence's study of an Alfred Munnings painting, an artist she takes inspiration from.
Artist Bio
Amy Florence is a London born artist working out of her st...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Academic Art
Materials
Oil, Panel, Wood Panel, Board
Ikebana - Carnations and Astilbe
Located in Florham Park, NJ
Ikebana
Japanese Woodblocks.
Meiji Period. Circa 1895.
A disciplined art form, Ikebana seeks to bring nature and man together. The emphasis is on form and simplicity of design...
Category
Late 19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Woodcut
Urtica (Nettle)
Located in Florham Park, NJ
GEORGE DIONSYSIUS EHRET (1708-1770).
Plantae Selectae....
Text by Dr. Christoph Trew.
Drawn by Georg Dionsysius Ehret.
Engraved by Johannes Jacobus and Johannes Elias Haid.
Nuremberg...
Category
1750s Academic Art
Materials
Gold Leaf
Still life with aquarium
Located in Bayonne, NJ
This oil on canvas painting was executed by Lev Meshberg with his authentic technique where he used wax over canvas to create a texture first and then the paint.
Category
20th Century Academic Art
Materials
Oil
Young boy with carafe by Heinrich Rettig - Watercolor on paper 60x76 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Watercolor on paper sold with frame
Total size with frame 73x89 cm
Heinrich RETTIG is an artist born in Germany in 1859 and died in 1921. His works have been sold at public auction ...
Category
Early 20th Century Academic Art
Materials
Watercolor
Nude woman with roses by famous Latvian painter Janis Rozentāls
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Janis Rozentāls was born in 1866 in Saldus, Latvia, to a family with modest means. The son of a
blacksmith, Rozentāls faced economic challenges in his early life, prompting him to mo...
Category
Late 19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Oil, Canvas
“Red Poppies and Grapes”
Located in Southampton, NY
Here for your consideration is a circa 1920’s still life of red poppies and purple grapes. Oil on artist canvas board . Signed lower right but artist is unknown. Appears to be “A. ...
Category
1920s Academic Art
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Portrait of a Lady
By Alexandre-François Caminade
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Alexandre François CAMINADE (1789-1862)
Portrait of a Lady
Oil on wood signed low right
Old frame gilded with leaves
Wood size : 22 X 15 cm
Frame size : 40 X 30 cm
Alexandre-Françoi...
Category
1850s Academic Art
Materials
Oil
Still life by Baldo Guberti - Oil on cardboard 32x45 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Oil on cardboard sold with frame
Wooden frame with glass
Total size with frame 47x60 cm
Baldo GUBERTI is an artist born in Italy in 1907 and died in 1974. His works have been sold ...
Category
1960s Academic Art
Materials
Oil
VOLTO DI DONNA - Stampa riproduzione Emilio Greco, anni 70
By Emilio Greco
Located in Napoli, IT
Stampa riprodizione del disegno " Volto di Ragazza" realizzato dal disegnatore Emilio Greco.Firmato in basso a destra.
Scultore italiano (Catania 1913 - Roma 1995). Trasferitosi a Ro...
Category
1970s Academic Art
Materials
Color
MARINA DI NAPOLI - Gouache anonymous artist, Italy 2000s
Located in Napoli, IT
Gouache, also known in the French form gouache, is a type of tempera color made heavier and more opaque by the addition of a white pigment mixed with gum arabic. The result is precis...
Category
1990s Academic Art
Materials
Gouache
Academic 19th Century portrait of a young woman by Cabanel
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Alexandre Cabanel (1823–1889) was a prominent French academic painter known for his mastery of Neoclassical and Academic art. Born on September 28, 1823, in Montpellier, France, Caba...
Category
Mid-19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
'Studies of a tabby cat', mixed media on paper by British artist John Sergeant
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
John Sargeant (British, 1937 – 2010)
Studies of a tabby cat
Mixed media
Signed and dated ‘John Sargeant 1974 (lower right)
8.7/8 x 12in. (22.6 x 30.5 cm.)
Category
20th Century Academic Art
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
Black-Faced Heath Breed
By David Low
Located in Florham Park, NJ
David Low (1786-1859)
The Breeds of the Domestic Animals of the British Isles
William Nicholson, RSA, Illustrator
Brown, Green, & Longman’s, Publisher
London, 1842
Lithographs with Original Hand-Color
Page Size, 12.5 x 17
“Professor Low...
Category
Mid-19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Lithograph
Study of a woman for the figure of Industry for a ceiling in Paris
Located in PARIS, FR
Pierre-Victor GALLAND
Geneva, 1822 - Paris, 1892
Study of a woman for the figure of Industry for the ceiling of Jean-François Cail's hotel in Paris (actually town hall of the 8th arr...
Category
19th Century Academic Art
Materials
Oil
Landscape, Post 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: 2022
Style: Impressionism
Title: Landscape
Size: 27.5" x 31.5" x 0.8'...
Category
2010s Academic Art
Materials
Oil, Canvas
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.