Academic Sculptures
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.
to
21
20
20
25
11
31
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
4
48
42
13
3
1
2
4
2
1
3
4
9,739
3,430
1,487
960
465
146
140
121
93
77
62
30
9
5
78
51
50
38
37
32
21
9
8
5
4
4
4
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
52
51
41
21
20
3
2
2
2
1
54
51
Style: Academic
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 wi...
Category
20th Century Academic Sculptures
Materials
Limestone
Apollo Marble Bust Sculpture of Grand Tour Mythological subject 1850
Located in Rome, IT
Finely carved mythological subject in white Carrara marble of Apollo bust .
Category
20th Century Academic Sculptures
Materials
Marble
Victory - Athletic Young Man in Classical Pose, ( Female Sculptor )
By Evelyn Beatrice Longman
Located in Miami, FL
Evelyn Beatrice Longman was a trailblazing female artist getting major commissions at the very begining of the 20th century.
Having lived in New York City, I used to walk by the life size version of this in Philip Johnson's ATT Building and it left me breathless every time. This classical bronze statue of a victorious and handsome young man is called "Victory...
Category
Early 1900s Academic Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Jean Coulon - Aegina and Zeus Bronze Statue
Located in New York, NY
Aegina was one of the daughters of the river god Asopus and his wife, the river nymph Metope. The couple had many daughters, and most of them became the object of desire of either Ze...
Category
19th Century Academic Sculptures
Materials
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...
Category
20th Century Academic Sculptures
Materials
Limestone
Arrotino (Knife Sharpener) Fonderia Chiurazzi Life-size Bronze Bust Sculpture
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Grand Tour Bronze Bust of the Arrotino (Knife Sharpener)
Chiurazzi Foundry, Naples, Italy
Early 20th Century
This exceptional Grand Tour bronze bust represents the celebrated Arrotin...
Category
Early 20th Century Academic Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Charioteer of Delphi Life-size Plaster Cast with Original Bronze Inspired Patina
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Life-Size Charioteer of Delphi — Museum-Quality Plaster Cast with Custom Bronze Patination
After the Ancient Greek Original, c. 470 BCE
This life-size plaster cast of the Charioteer ...
Category
Early 20th Century Academic Sculptures
Materials
Plaster
Bust of veiled woman
Located in Roma, RM
Giulio Tadolini ( Rome 1849 - 1918 ) ( attr. to ), Bust of veiled woman
Bronze 61 x 37 x 22 cm.
Category
Late 19th Century Academic Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
$5,378
Timing Belt Sculpture Clay Ceramic Handmade by Garo, One of a Kind
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Figurative Sculpture Clay Ceramic Handmade
Artist: (Garo) Karapet Balakeseryan
Medium: Clay Ceramic, One of a Kind
Year: 2025
Style: Impressionism, Surrealism
Title: Time Belt
S...
Category
2010s Academic Sculptures
Materials
Ceramic, Clay
Anahit Goddess Fertility Sculpture Clay Ceramic Handmade by Garo, One of a Kind
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Artist: (Garo) Karapet Balakeseryan
Medium: Clay Ceramic, One of a Kind
Year: 2025
Style: Classic Academism
Title: Anahit, Goddess of Fertility
Motherhood
Size: 12''x16''x...
Category
2010s Academic Sculptures
Materials
Clay, Ceramic
“Enlevement des Sabines”
Located in Southampton, NY
Here for your consideration is a beautiful highly detailed bronze done in the forth quarter of the nineteen century after the work of Jean Boulogne, known as Giambologna. Boulogne’s sculpture was done in marble and was completed between 1579 and 1583. The sculptor of this bronze is Antonin Mercie, a well known French sculptor born in 1845. The bronze represents the Rape of the Sabine Women (Latin: Sabinae raptae), also known as the Abduction of the Sabine Women or the Kidnapping of the Sabine Women, was an incident in Roman mythology in which the men of Rome committed a mass abduction of young women from the other cities in the region. It has been a frequent subject of artists and sculptors, particularly during the Renaissance and post-Renaissance eras. Signed on base “Mercie” for Antonin Mercie.. In very good condition wirh original brown patina. The base which depicts rocks is bronze and has been painted a matt black. Provenance:: A Sarasota estate.
Mercié, (Marius Jean Antonin Mercie...
Category
1880s Academic Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
$3,040 Sale Price
20% Off
"Echo" Oscar Lenz, Lyrical Early American Allegorical Female Nude Sculpture
Located in New York, NY
Oscar Lenz
Echo, 1904
Signed and dated on base: Oscar L Lenz 1904
Bronze
70 1/4 x 25 x 25 1/4 inches
Oscar Lenz was an American sculptor born at Providence, Rhode Island. He receiv...
Category
Early 1900s Academic Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Shell of the Gods: Italian Carrara Marble, Sculpture
By Bela Bacsi
Located in Pasadena, CA
Provenance
Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist.
Description
This sculpture by Bela Bacsi was inspired by a Hellenistic marble based on...
Category
2010s Academic Sculptures
Materials
Marble
James Dean by Mario Napoli - Bronze 60x50x28 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Bronze sculpture by Mario Napoli, Swiss artist from XXth century. His works was sold 12 times in auctions since 2022. Work signed in the bronze. Edition ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Academic Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
$3,336 Sale Price
50% Off
Painted Cast-Metal Tiger circa 1900
Located in SANTA FE, NM
Painted Cast-Metal Tiger
Continental School, circa 1900
8.75 x 19.5 inches
Ex. Collection Interior Designer Joseph Cicio
Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Joseph Cicio followe...
Category
Early 20th Century Academic Sculptures
Materials
Metal
"Salut Au Soleil"
By Georges Dupre
Located in Southampton, NY
French, 1899 SALUT AU SOLEIL, art medal, in bronze by Georges Dupré, in fine condition, (Dark oxidation spot to right of larger figure, slight surface vertical scratch verso); edge ...
Category
1890s Academic Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Orson Wells by Mario Napoli - Bronze 60x50x28 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Bronze sculpture by Mario Napoli, Swiss artist from XXth century. His works was sold 12 times in auctions since 2022. Work signed in the bronze. Edition ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Academic Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
$3,336 Sale Price
50% Off
Marlène Dietrich by Mario Napoli - Bronze 50x60x28 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Bronze sculpture by Mario Napoli, Swiss artist from XXth century. His works was sold 12 times in auctions since 2022. Work signed in the bronze. Edition ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Academic Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
$3,336 Sale Price
50% Off
Arletty, Leonie Bathiat by Mario Napoli - Bronze 50x60x28 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Bronze sculpture by Mario Napoli, Swiss artist from XXth century. His works was sold 12 times in auctions since 2022. Work signed in the bronze. Edition ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Academic Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
$3,336 Sale Price
50% Off
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 Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Ready.
Located in Zofingen, AG
"Classical ballet was my main source of inspiration. Grace and beauty of ballerinas combining with extremely hard work they do. This combination is shocking and inspiring in the same...
Category
2010s Academic Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Jean Cocteau by Mario Napoli - Bronze 60x50x28 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Bronze sculpture by Mario Napoli, Swiss artist from XXth century. His works was sold 12 times in auctions since 2022. Work signed in the bronze. Edition ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Academic Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
$3,336 Sale Price
50% Off
TORSO OF YOUNG BRONZE MAN
Located in Nice, FR
Bust of a young man with green bronze patina.
Category
1960s Academic Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
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 Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
"L
Infini"
By Pierre Charles Lenoir
Located in Southampton, NY
Circa 1910 bronze cast medal by the French sculptor, Pierre Charles Lenoir. Edge mark, cornucopia.
Pierre Lenoir was a French sculptor and medallist and was one of the Breton sculp...
Category
1910s Academic Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Imponente Scultura Neoclassica Italiana in Marmo Venere Genitrice XIX secolo
Located in Pistoia, IT
Imponente scultura neoclassica in marmo, modello conosciuto come Afrodite Louvre-Napoli o Venus Genitrix, bottega italiana, 19 secolo.
La dea è raffigurata in piedi, al momento de...
Category
19th Century Academic Sculptures
Materials
Marble
Mounted Jockeys Taking a Jump
Located in Saratoga Springs, NY
Bronze (After) Henri (Comte) Geoffroy De Ruille, Mounted Jockeys (French 1842-1922)
"Mounted Jockeys Taking a Jump"
40"long x 26" high x 20 ½" wide
20th Century
Medium: Patinaed B...
Category
Mid-20th Century Academic Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
American Bronze Sculpture of Male Nude Athlete during Shot Put.
Located in New York, NY
Clemente Spampinato, born in 1912 in Calabria, Italy, was a versatile artist and sports enthusiast. He created Bronze Trophies and Medallions for the Olympics and Italian sporting events in the 1930s and '40s. After becoming a U.S. citizen in 1947, he moved to New York, where he channeled his artistic passion into capturing the essence of the American West, specializing in sports and Western-themed sculptures. His work, celebrated for its realism and dynamic portrayal of athletic movements, is exhibited in museums, galleries, and private collections across the United States, Canada, and Europe. Selected sculptures can be seen in various locations, including Washington DC, Cooperstown, NY, Canton, OH, New Orleans, LA, and the complete collection is on display in Sea Cliff, New York.
Large Bronze Nude Of Male Athlete During A Shot Put...
Category
1950s Academic Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Mettlach Crusaders Drinking Stein
Located in Missouri, MO
Villeroy & Boch Mettlach #2122 Etched 4L. by Heinrich Schlitt (1849-1923). Stamped and Marked on Bottom
Signed along Base. Painted Ceramic with Pewter Lid. Roman soldiers and monk wi...
Category
Late 19th Century Academic Sculptures
Materials
Ceramic, Paint
Portrait Head of a Woman
Located in New York, NY
A delightful and classic bust that celebrates women and figure in sculpture. It was common during this era for sculptors to do a bust like this and interestingly, even though it was...
Category
Early 1900s Academic Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Untitled Man With Closed Eyes 1
Located in Lake Worth Beach, FL
Untitled 1982 Young Man With Closed Eyes
Artist signed, and dated.
WILLIAM LUDWIG (1935-2011)
Education:
University of Connecticut, 1957-1961
Hartford Art School, University of Har...
Category
1980s Academic Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Baby, 1900-1920 - terracotta, 37x38x20 cm
By Max Cantini
Located in Nice, FR
Sculpture in terracotta.
Category
Early 20th Century Academic Sculptures
Materials
Terracotta
Untitled Man With Closed Eyes
Located in Lake Worth Beach, FL
Untitled 1989 Man With Closed Eyes
Bronze on wooden base
WILLIAM LUDWIG (1935-2011)
Education:
University of Connecticut, 1957-1961
Hartford Art School, University of Hartford, 1961-...
Category
1980s Academic Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Italian 19th Century Carrara Marble Sculpture " Young Beauty Going for a Swim"
Located in LA, CA
A very fine Italian 19th century Carrara marble sculpture depicting a young beauty going for a Swim standing on the steps of a dock, raised on its original carved green marble pedest...
Category
Late 19th Century Academic Sculptures
Materials
Marble
Hercules Italian Stone Sculpture of Classical Torso with Base
Located in Rome, IT
This reproduction of a classical Hellenistic sculpture of Hercules .
A timeless piece for interior and a garden decoration.
We can raise with a base on request .
Category
20th Century Academic Sculptures
Materials
Limestone
Pair Italian Limestone Garden Sculptures with Cornucopia
Located in Rome, IT
Finely carved mythological subject in limestone with Cornucopia associated with the harvest, prosperity, or spiritual abundance. Excellent condition from an estate of Veneto.
Measur...
Category
20th Century Academic Sculptures
Materials
Limestone
Maiden with hat
Located in Roma, RM
Luigi Preatoni (Novara 1845 - ?), Maiden with hat
Marble bust 66 x 43 x 36 cm signed (L Preatoni) on edge of dress.
Category
Late 19th Century Academic Sculptures
Materials
Marble
"Wife of Lot"
By Robert Bodem
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
Robert Christian Bodem is a sculptor of figurative work, primarily showing in bronze. He received both his Bachelors and Masters in Fine Arts in Sculpture at Boston University. Durin...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Academic Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Grand Tour Bronze Sculpture of Diana Goddess of the Hunt Signed B. Boschetti.
Located in Rome, IT
Grand Tour Fine Group of Sculpture in Bronze after a Louvre Diana of Versailles or Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt.
Diana is represented at the hunt, hastening forward, as if in pursui...
Category
Mid-19th Century Academic Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Marble Sculpture of Roman Mythological subject Apollo
Located in Rome, IT
Finely carved mythological subject in white Carrara marble of Apollo head .
Measurements: Statues cm 150, base cm 85.
Category
20th Century Academic Sculptures
Materials
Limestone
$7,649 Sale Price
20% Off
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 Sculptures
Materials
Terracotta
$11,474 Sale Price
20% Off
Antique Bronze Bust of a Provincial French Woman C. 1882 by Émile Guillemin
Located in New York, NY
By Émile-Coriolan-Hippolyte Guillemin (French, 1841-1907)
A lively bust of a young french woman; dynamically sculpted with an adorable upturned smile and glimmering eyes, in a chemi...
Category
Late 19th Century Academic Sculptures
Materials
Marble, Bronze
Four Season Extraordinary Set of Italian Stone Term Figure Sculptures
Located in Rome, IT
Four Term Figure sculptures with classically draped figures and their distinguishing symbols in carved Vicenza stone. Autumn, winter, spring and summer. Measures: Height with squar...
Category
20th Century Academic Sculptures
Materials
Limestone
Pair Italian Limestone Garden Sculptures with Cornucopia
Located in Rome, IT
Finely carved mythological subject in limestone with Cornucopia associated with the harvest, prosperity, or spiritual abundance. Excellent condition.
Measurements: Statue cm 160, ba...
Category
20th Century Academic Sculptures
Materials
Limestone
Young St. John the Baptist by Domenico Menconi
Located in New Orleans, LA
Masterfully carved with remarkable detail, a youthful Saint John the Baptist folds his hands in prayer in this stunning marble by the important Italian sculptor Domenico Menconi. The...
Category
19th Century Academic Sculptures
Materials
Marble
Pair Italian Limestone Garden Sculptures with Cornucopia
Located in Rome, IT
Finely carved mythological subject in limestone with Cornucopia associated with the harvest, prosperity, or spiritual abundance. Excellent condition from an estate of Veneto.
Measur...
Category
20th Century Academic Sculptures
Materials
Limestone
Marble Sculpture of Roman Mythological subject Apollo
Located in Rome, IT
Finely carved mythological subject in white Carrara marble of Apollo head .
Category
20th Century Academic Sculptures
Materials
Limestone
$7,171 Sale Price
25% Off
Academic sculptures for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Academic sculptures 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. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Mathurin Moreau, Arthur Waagen, Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, and Bela Bacsi. Frequently made by artists working with Metal, and Bronze 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 sculptures, so small editions measuring 3.55 inches across are also available. Prices for sculptures 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 $316 and tops out at $598,500, while the average work sells for $8,622.
More Ways To Browse
Sergio Bustamante Cat
Sterling Hare
Sterling Silver Hare
Batman Toy
Bird With Tuft
Boxing Hares Sculpture
Bronze Hummingbird
Dave Alexander
Elizabeth Fritsch
Guerra Sculpture
Herb Mignery
Hiro Ando Warrior Cats
Jules Lagae
Naked Man Sculpture
Randy Cooper Wire Mesh Sculpture
Snoopy Sculpture
Tall Wire Sculpture
Vincent Beaurin