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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
Bonaventure LAURENS Landscape painting View GRENOBLE from mountain French 19th
Located in PARIS, FR
Jean Joseph Bonaventure LAURENS (Attributed to) Carpentras, 1801 – Montpellier, 1890 View of Grenoble from the heights Oil on canvas mounted on cardboard 35.5 x 42.5 cm (46.5 x 54.5 ...
Category

19th Century Academic Art

Materials

Oil

Toileting Children in the Garden - Original Etching Signed (Petrides #E19)
Located in Paris, IDF
Suzanne VALADON (1865-1938) Toileting Children in the Garden, 1932 Original etching Signed in pencil On BFK Rives vellum 53.5 x 44 cm (c. 21 x 17.3 in) INFORMATION : Printed in 193...
Category

1930s Academic Art

Materials

Etching

Still Life, Red Tulips with Japanese Porcelain , Belgian Lace, Japonaiserie
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
A finely-drawn, pastel still-life showing red tulips informally arranged in a Chelsea soft paste porcelain Chocolate pot decorated in the Japanese style and set beside a cup and sauc...
Category

1890s Academic Art

Materials

Gold Leaf

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 Art

Materials

Ceramic, Clay

Watercolor Painting - Flowers with China Porcelain vase
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
ROSENSTOCK Isidor (1880-1956) Still Life of Flowers with China Porcelain Vase Watercolor on card signed low right Old original frame gilded with leaves and Glass Dim card : 38 X 58 c...
Category

1920s Academic Art

Materials

Watercolor

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 Art

Materials

Clay, Ceramic

Young Woman and Old Woman - Original Etching Signed (Petrides #E24)
Located in Paris, IDF
Suzanne VALADON (1865-1938) Young Woman and Old Woman, 1932 Original etching Signed in pencil On BFK Rives vellum 47 x 37 cm (c. 18.5 x 14.5 in) INFORMATION : Printed in 1932, this...
Category

1930s Academic Art

Materials

Etching

Mid-Century Americana "Good House Keeping Magazine", 1948
Located in Miami, FL
When the Wood Grows Dry "Good House Keeping Magazine" illustration Surreal depiction of a young mid-century girls social life Good House Keeping Magazi...
Category

1940s Academic Art

Materials

Board, Gouache

Vienna, Impressionism, Original oil Painting, One of a Kind, cityscape
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Artist: Ara H. Hakobyan Work: Original Oil Painting, Handmade Artwork, One of a Kind Medium: Oil on Canvas Year: 2015 Style: Impressionism Title: Vienna Size: 9" x 12" x 0.8'' inch,...
Category

2010s Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"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 Art

Materials

Bronze

"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 Art

Materials

Bronze

The Painter s Studio original painting by Paula Craioveanu oil on canvas Framed
Located in Forest Hills, NY
"The Painter's Studio", oil on canvas, 39x27.5in / 100x70cm The artist's studio and art objects part of artist' life and work. A sculpture, an antique head and a painting that remin...
Category

2010s Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, 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

Little Girl, Figurative, 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: 2016 Style: Impressionism Title: Little Girl Size: 22" x 28" x 0.8'' ...
Category

2010s Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Female Nude , by R.V. Goetz, Charcoal on Paper Drawing
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
This Richard Vernon Goetz Drawing on Paper from the mid-20th Century features a standing female nude rendered in black and grey cross-hatch lines of Charcoal and Conté Crayon. The we...
Category

Mid-20th Century Academic Art

Materials

Paper, Charcoal, Conté

In evening dress by Henri Fehr - Sketch 50x70 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Work on paper
Category

20th Century Academic Art

Materials

Crayon

Domingo Alvarez Gómez (1942) - Desnudo femenino - Dibujo a pastel
Located in Sant Celoni, ES
Firmado en la parte inferior por el artista Se presenta sin enmarcar la obra Medidas obra: 46 cm. de altura x 55 cm. de ancho Buen estado de conservación el de la obra ::::::::::...
Category

Late 20th Century Academic Art

Materials

Pastel

Food and the War! Original c. 1918 World War 1 vintage poster
Located in Spokane, WA
Original poster: Food and the War! American wheat to win! Rare and very seldom seen original World War 1 authentic vintage poster. Archi...
Category

1910s Academic Art

Materials

Lithograph

Odalisque with Tray oil on canvas painting
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Title of the Artwork: Odalisque with Tray Artist: Rosendo González Carbonell Technique: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 24 x 20 inches Frame: Unfr...
Category

1970s Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

“Paris-London”
Located in Southampton, NY
Very nice original hand colored copper plate etching (aquatint) by the Hungarian born artist, Marianne L. Almasy. Depicts London with its double buses in the foreground and scenes of Paris in the background. Handwritten bottom left in pencil, original etching 206/295. Handwritten in pencil lower right, L. Marianne. Condition: Very good to excellent. Provenance: Sarasota, Florida estate. Certificate of authenticity verso (see photo). Professionally matted with a one inch solid oak frame in a medium walnut stain. Overall 24 by 19 inches. Marianne Almasy...
Category

1980s Academic Art

Materials

Archival Paper, Etching

Young naked woman with bunch of grapes
Located in Genève, GE
Dimension with frame :110 x 79 x 6.5 cm Young nude woman with a bunch of grapes Oil on canvas, dated 1970 Signed lower left: G.H. A sublime oil on canvas depicting a young nude woman...
Category

1970s Academic Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Symbolism : Melancolia - Etching
Located in Paris, IDF
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) (after) Melencolia Engraving Signed in the plate On Arches vellum, 45 x 31 cm (c. 22 x 12 in) INFORMATION: Created in 1514, Melencolia is one of Albrecht...
Category

2010s Academic Art

Materials

Etching

Dynamic Watercolor study of Equine Trainer with a Horse
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: Dynamic Watercolor study of Equine Trainer with a Horse Artist: Robert Ladou (French, 1929-2014) Medium: Watercolour on paper Size: 7.75 (Height) x 11.25 (Width) Signed: No C...
Category

20th Century Academic Art

Materials

Watercolor

"On the Vaudoise cost, Switzerland" by René Zwahlen - Watercolor 44x57 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Watercolor on Arches paper 640g Sold with a silver frame without glass Total size with the passe-partout and the frame 65x78 cm René Zwahlen was a Swiss watercolor artist and pai...
Category

20th Century Academic Art

Materials

Watercolor

South Bay, 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: 2024 Style: Impressionism Title: South Bay Size: 31.5" x 39.5" x 0.8...
Category

2010s Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Original "Your Country s Call, Enlist Now" 1915 vintage British poster
Located in Spokane, WA
Your Country's Call. Isn't this Worth Fighting For? Enlist Now. Original WW1 poster, archival linen-backed vintage military poster. Linen-backed and ...
Category

1910s Academic Art

Materials

Lithograph

Sueño entre flores - Dibujo a pastel
Located in Sant Celoni, ES
Firmado en la parte inferior por el artista Se presenta sin enmarcar la obra Medidas obra: 59 cm. de altura x 50 cm. de ancho Buen estado de conservación el de la obra ::::::::::...
Category

Late 20th Century Academic Art

Materials

Pastel

“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

1940s Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

“Flying South”
“Flying South”
$1,760 Sale Price
20% Off
Original French Anatomical Pencil Study of a Horse in Profile
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: Original French Anatomical Pencil Study of a Horse in Profile Artist: Robert Ladou (French, 1929-2014) Medium: Pencil on Paper Size: 14.25 (Height) x 19.25 (Width) Signed: No ...
Category

20th Century Academic Art

Materials

Pencil

Original French Anatomical Study of Horse s Hoof
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: Original French Anatomical Study of Horse's Hoof Artist: Robert Ladou (French, 1929-2014) Medium: Watercolor on card Size: 19.75 (Height) x 12.5 (Width) Signed: No Condition: ...
Category

20th Century Academic Art

Materials

Pencil, Watercolor

Music : Violinist Player - Lithograph, 1918
Located in Paris, IDF
Maurice DENIS (1870 - 1943) Violonist, 1918 Lithograph enhanced with pastel On vellum 47.5 x 31 cm (c. 18.7 x 12.2 inch) INFORMATION : Edited by Louis Rouart in Paris, former colle...
Category

Early 20th Century Academic Art

Materials

Pastel, Lithograph

Anatomy Drawings of a Horse - Original French Artwork Equestrian Anatomy Study
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Anatomy of a Horse by Robert Ladou (French 1929-2014) original drawing stuck on card in blue folder/ thick paper, unframed top drawing: 7.25 x 9...
Category

20th Century Academic Art

Materials

Charcoal, Crayon, Watercolor, Pencil, Color Pencil

Beautiful Day, Landscape, 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: 2017 Style: Impressionism Title: Beautiful Day Size: 20" x 26" x 0.8'...
Category

2010s Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Original French Anatomical Study of Horse s Head and Neck
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: Original French Anatomical Study of Horse's Head and Neck Artist: Robert Ladou (French, 1929-2014) Medium: Pen and Pencil on card Size: 19.75 (Height) x 12.75 (Width) Signed: ...
Category

20th Century Academic Art

Materials

Pen, Pencil

In the Beach, figurative art 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: 2021 Style: Impressionism Title: In the Beach Size: 19.5" x 27.5" x 0...
Category

2010s Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Pleasure of the Sea, Figurative, Coastal, 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: 2023 Style: Impressionism Title: Pleasure of the Sea Size: 27.5" x 35...
Category

2010s Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Fishing Boats, Seascape, 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: 2023 Style: Impressionism Title: Fishing Boats Size: 26" x 35" x 0.8'...
Category

2010s Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Mexican School Mother and Child
Located in San Francisco, CA
Beautiful Mexican school painting of a mother carrying her child. It is a mixed medium on paper using what looks to be oil paint as well as oil, crayon and or pastel. Wonderfully exe...
Category

20th Century Academic Art

Materials

Oil Crayon, Oil

Spanish painting Portrait man Trace signature Academic 19th oil on canvas
Located in PARIS, FR
Juan Pablo SALINAS (Attributed to) Madrid, 1871 – Rome, 1946 Oil on canvas on a panel 34 x 22 cm (43 x 31 cm with the frame) Trace of signature lower lef...
Category

Late 19th Century Academic Art

Materials

Oil

Red Boat, Coastal, 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: 2017 Style: Impressionism Title: Red Boat Size: 9" x 12" x 0.8'' inch...
Category

2010s Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Nude Woman in the Bath - Original Etching Signed (Petrides #E1)
Located in Paris, IDF
Suzanne VALADON (1865-1938) Nude Woman in the Bath, 1932 Original etching Signed in pencil On BFK Rives vellum 47 x 37 cm (c. 18.5 x 14.5 in) INFORMATION : Printed in 1932, this et...
Category

1930s Academic Art

Materials

Etching

Bashi-Bazouk - Dibujo a pastel
Located in Sant Celoni, ES
Firmado en la parte inferior por el artista Se presenta sin enmarcar la obra Medidas obra: 61 cm. de altura x 50 cm. de ancho Buen estado de conservación el de la obra ::::::::::...
Category

Late 20th Century Academic Art

Materials

Pastel

Family scene, children dog and pup, French painting by Delacroix prodigy friend
Located in Norwich, GB
A sweet and intimate family scene by the rarest of artists: French early 19th Century child prodigy Henri-Louis-Hippolyte Poterlet (1804-1835). Poterlet was a close friend and confi...
Category

1820s Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Original French Study of Children Watching Horses Cross a Bridge
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: Original French Study of Children Watching Horses Cross a Bridge Artist: Robert Ladou (French, 1929-2014) Medium: Ink on card Size: 6.5 (Height) x 14.75 (Width) Signed: No Co...
Category

20th Century Academic Art

Materials

Ink

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 Art

Materials

Bronze

Lady with Books #3 - Surreal painting by Paula Craioveanu FRAMED
Located in Forest Hills, NY
"Lady with Books 3" 39x23in / 100x60cm Shipped as it is, stretched, framed. Size framed 41.5x25.7in Free shipping with 1stDibs code Lady with Books 3 and Lady with Books 1 - these ...
Category

2010s Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Bergère près des rochers
Located in Atlanta, GA
Jean-Ferdinand Chaigneau was born in the shipping center of Bordeaux on March 6th, 1830. There he studied drawing under the academic painter Jean-Paul Alaux (1788-1858). In 1847...
Category

19th Century Academic Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

Female Cupid , Roman Mythology, Venus and Mars, Romance, Lust, Love, Desire
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
After the original by Henrika Langus (Slovenian, 1836-1876) and painted circa 1880. Unsigned. Framed dimensions: 17.25 x 1 x 15.5 inches. A charming and antique study of a young, f...
Category

1880s Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Masonite, Oil

Set of Four Butterflies. French Watercolours on Silk Laid on Handmade Paper.
Located in Cotignac, FR
A set of four watercolours of butterflies on silk, applied to handmade paper, with hand cut edges, by French artist La Roche Laffitte. Two are signed by the artist to the bottom righ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Academic Art

Materials

Silk, Watercolor, Handmade Paper, Carbon Pencil, Gouache

Portrait of Mother and Daughter - Lithograph
Located in Paris, IDF
Maurice DENIS (1870 - 1943) The Woman in the Green Coat, 1918 Lithograph On vellum 47 x 36,5 cm (c. 18,5 x 14,3 inch) INFORMATION : Edited by Louis Rouart in Paris, from a drawing ...
Category

Early 20th Century Academic Art

Materials

Lithograph

Study of a Praying Woman - Lithograph Signed
Located in Paris, IDF
Maurice DENIS (1870 - 1943) Study of a Praying Woman, 1918 Lithograph enhanced with pastel Printed signature in the plate On vellum 48.5 x 26.5 cm (c. 19,1 x 10,4 inch) INFORMATION...
Category

Early 20th Century Academic Art

Materials

Pastel, Lithograph

The Swiss by Otto Vautier - Drawing 31x24 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Work on canvas Otto Vautier is a renowned Swiss painter, born in 1863 in Düsseldorf. He was influenced by a family of artists and developed his style dur...
Category

1910s Academic Art

Materials

Crayon, Watercolor

Study for Lyric Drama - Original Lithograph
Located in Paris, IDF
Maurice DENIS (1870 - 1943) Study for Lyric Drama, 1918 Original lithograph enhanced in pastel Unsigned On light cream tinted paper 33.5 x 46.5 cm (c. 13,18 x 18,3 inch) INFORMATIO...
Category

Early 20th Century Academic Art

Materials

Lithograph

Naked Woman in the Bath - Original Etching Signed (Petrides #E2)
Located in Paris, IDF
Suzanne VALADON (1865-1938) Naked Woman in the Bath, 1932 Original etching Signed in pencil On BFK Rives vellum 47 x 37 cm (c. 18.5 x 14.5 in) INFORMATION : Printed in 1932, this e...
Category

1930s Academic Art

Materials

Etching

Nude Woman Doing her Hair - Original Etching Signed (Petrides #E5)
Located in Paris, IDF
Suzanne VALADON (1865-1938) Nude Woman Doing her Hair, 1932 Original etching Signed in pencil On BFK Rives vellum 47 x 37 cm (c. 18.5 x 14.5 in) INFORMATION : Printed in 1932, this...
Category

1930s Academic Art

Materials

Etching

Chinese Monastery, Impressionism, Original 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: Acrylic on Canvas Year: 2019 Style: Impressionism Title: Chinese Monastery Size: 16" x 20...
Category

2010s Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

On the Beach, Figurative, Coastal, 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: 2021 Style: Impressionism Title: On the Beach Size: 31.5" x 45" x 1''...
Category

2010s Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The Bath : Two Women Wiping - Lithograph (Petrides 1947)
Located in Paris, IDF
Suzanne VALADON (1865-1938) Two Women Wiping Lithograph enhanced with stencil after a drawing Signed in the plate On Lana vellum, 32 x 25 cm (c. 13 x 10 in) INFORMATION: Lithograph...
Category

1940s Academic Art

Materials

Lithograph

Portrait of a Young Man with a Straw Hat oil on canvas painting
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Title: Portrait of a Young Man with a Straw Hat Artist: Josep Cusachs i Cusachs (1851-1908) Year: 1884 Technique: Oil on canvas Dimensions (unframed): 18.1 x 15 inches Dimensions (fr...
Category

1880s Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

In The Village, figurative, 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: 2023 Style: Impressionism Title: In the Village Size: 19" x 23" x 0.8...
Category

2010s Academic Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

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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