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Academic Prints and Multiples

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
Period: 18th Century and Earlier
Louis I of France as a Roman Emperor, in profile to the right
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Louis I of France as a Roman Emperor, in profile to the right Chiaroscuro woodcut, 1631-1633 Unsigned (as usual) After a drawing by Hubert Goltzius (1526-1583)...
Category

17th Century Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

ABS, Woodcut

Ponte Gianniculense (Italy)
Located in Florham Park, NJ
ROMA (Italy) A. Aquaroni. Engraving. Modern Hand-Color. Rome, 1750. Ever wonder what pre-dated the postcard? By the mid-eighteenth century, travel and exploration had become a...
Category

1750s Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Watercolor, Engraving

Piazza de San Giacomo (Italy)
Located in Florham Park, NJ
ROMA (Italy) A. Aquaroni. Engraving. Modern Hand-Color. Rome, Italy 1750. Ever wonder what pre-dated the postcard? By the mid-eighteenth century, travel and exploration had be...
Category

1750s Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Watercolor, Engraving

Tempio di Romolo, e Remo
Located in Florham Park, NJ
ROMA A. Aquaroni. Engraving. Modern Hand-Color. Rome, 1750. Ever wonder what pre-dated the postcard? By the mid-eighteenth century, travel and exploration had become a we...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Engraving, Watercolor

Papauer Flore. (Poppy Flower)
By Emanuel Sweert
Located in Florham Park, NJ
EMANUEL SWEERT (1552-1612) Florilegium, tractans de variis floribus. Frankfurt, 1612. Seed and Plant Catalogue. Frankfurt, through 1647. Academic Florilegia. Copper Plate Engrav...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Engraving, Watercolor

Raphael's Loggia Plate X. Pilaster Top Priced as a pair with Pilaster Bottom
Located in Florham Park, NJ
RAPHAEL. Raffaello Sanzio d’Urbino. (1483 – 1520) Delle Logge di Rafaele nel Vaticano. Gateano Savorelli, artist. (1732- 1791) Ludovico Teseo, draughtsman. (1731-1782) Pietr...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Engraving, Gouache, Watercolor

Raphael's Loggia Plate VII. Pilaster Bottom Priced as a pair with Pilaster Top
Located in Florham Park, NJ
RAPHAEL. Raffaello Sanzio d’Urbino. (1483 – 1520) Delle Logge di Rafaele nel Vaticano. Gaetano Savorelli, artist. (1732- 1791) Ludovico Teseo, draughtsman. (1731-1782) Pietro ...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Engraving, Gouache, Watercolor

Podicipes (Grebe)
Located in Florham Park, NJ
MARK CATESBY. (1682(83)-1749). The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands. Drawn by Mark Catesby and G.D. Ehret. Etched by MarkCatesby. London, 1731-43. 160...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Etching, Watercolor

Wall Flowers
Located in Florham Park, NJ
JOHN PARKINSON (1567-1650). Paradisi in Sole Paradisus Terrestris. Published by Thrale. London, 1629. Woodcuts by Christopher Switzer. Later hand color. 110 woodcuts. "...a Garden of all sorts of pleasant flowers which our English are will permit to be noursed up...". Parkinson's work is among the most famous English gardening books...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Woodcut

Rosa (Roses)
Located in Florham Park, NJ
JOHN PARKINSON (1567-1650). Paradisi in Sole Paradisus Terrestris. Published by Thrale. London, 1629. Woodcuts by Christopher Switzer. Later hand color. 110 woodcuts. "...a Garden of all sorts of pleasant flowers which our English are will permit to be noursed up...". Parkinson's work is among the most famous English gardening books...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Woodcut

CCXL. Red Lily
Located in Florham Park, NJ
JOHANN THEODOR DE BRY (1561-1623) Florilegium Novum. Oppenhiem, 1611. Hand-coloured engravings. Inspired by Vallet, Besler and Van de Pass, DeBry's Florilegium Novum remains o...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Engraving

XLII. Ram's Head Urn
Located in Florham Park, NJ
...Etruscan, Greek and Roman Antiquities.... Hamilton, Sir William. 1730 – 1803. Collection of Etruscan Greek and Roman Antiquities from the Cabinet of the Hon. W. Hamilton. 4 vols. Naples, 1766-7. D’Hancarvills, sculpt. Aquatint Engravings in Black and Terra Cotta Inks. Finishing in Original Hand-Color. In 1764, Sir William Hamilton arrived in Naples to take up his new appointment as British Envoy Extraordinary to the Bourbon Court of King Ferdinand IV. At the time of his arrival, Italy was still a largely untapped field of archaeological discovery and there was ample opportunity for the private individual to amass a collection or 'cabinet' of classical antiquities at relatively little expense. The sites of the buried cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, although now under Royal control, were still being only haphazardly excavated and were openly vandalized. Hamilton himself complained of the fact, but also seems to have taken advantage of it. Hamilton's first collection was in fact acquired by the British Museum in 1772 where it formed the foundation of the now great collection of Greek and Roman antiquities. This was the first major collection of Greek vases (or, as they were then known, Etruscan) to reach England's shores. "To Hamilton belongs the merit of being the first to appreciate with warmth the severe beauty of their shapes, colouring and drawing, the mingled simplicity and feeling of the designs figured upon them; and it was he who recognized the value of these unpretentious vessels for forming and ennobling modern art-taste". (Adolph Michaelis, Ancient Marbles in Great Britain, Cambridge 1882, p. 110) Hamilton found a worthy ally in Josiah Wedgwood who was setting up a new factory appropriately called "Etruria". Opened in June of 1769, Wedgwood was to use Hamilton's models again and again in his pottery with many designs taken directly from the engravings. Etruscan antiquities...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Engraving

Oracoli....
By Jacopo Guarana
Located in Florham Park, NJ
JACOPO GUARANA. (1720 – 1808). “Oracoli auguri, aruspici, sibille, indovini della religione pagna.” Venice, 1792. Engraving with modern hand-coloring. 12” x 14.5” unframed. ...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Tape, Laid Paper, Plexiglass, Watercolor

"Enfans Antiques au Capitol." (Putti with Wigs/Masks)
Located in Florham Park, NJ
Giovanni Volpato (1738-1803) Raffaelle Morghen (1758-1833) Principi del Disegno Roma, 1786 Engravings Woven Paper 16.25” x 21.75 Unframed” The principles of design have bee...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Archival Paper, Archival Tape, Handmade Paper, Ink, Plexiglass

"Enfans antiques au Capitol." (Putti with Swans)
Located in Florham Park, NJ
Giovanni Volpato (1738-1803) Raffaelle Morghen (1758-1833) Principi del Disegno Roma, 1786 Engravings Woven Paper 16.25” x 21.75 Unframed” The principles of design have bee...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Ink, Plexiglass, Archival Paper, Archival Tape, Handmade Paper

T-III. Vaso Antico
Located in Florham Park, NJ
CARLOS ANTONINI Manuale di Vari Ornamenti Rome, 1781-1790 Engraving. 100 Illustrations. Late eighteenth century Europe was a world in revolution. People in France were losing their heads to Louis XVI and England had a mad king...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Laid Paper, Handmade Paper

“Haughton in the County of Nottingham” (Near Newark Upon Trent)
Located in Southampton, NY
An original hand colored engraving by Johannes 'Jan' Kip (1653-1722) of Haughton in the County of Nottinghamshire, one of the seats of Prince John Duke of ...
Category

Early 1700s Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Engraving

Lizard Le Scinque Reptile Animal
Located in Florham Park, NJ
George-Louis Leclerec, Comte de Buffon. HistoireNaturell, Generale et Particuliere avec la Description du Cabiner du Roi. Paris, 1749 Drawings by Jacques E. DeSeve. Engravings with l...
Category

1740s Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Watercolor, Engraving

Flowering Iris & Other Botanicals: Framed 17th C. Besler Hand-colored Engraving
Located in Alamo, CA
This is a hand-colored copper-plate engraving entitled "I. Spatula foetida - II. Caucalis Dodonei - III. Cruciata", depicting three flowering plants, including an Iris, from Basilius Besler's landmark work, Hortus Eystettensis (Garden at Eichstatt), first published in 1613 in Eichstatt, Germany near Nuremberg and later in 1640 and 1713. This beautiful hand-colored botanical engraving is presented in a gold-colored wood frame with a French mat...
Category

Mid-17th Century Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Engraving

“Bank Notes”
Located in Southampton, NY
James Gillray (13 August 1756 – 1 June 1815) was a British caricaturist and printmaker famous for his etched political and social satires, mainly published between 1792 and 1810. Many of his works are held at the National Portrait Gallery in London. Description: Pitt (left) as a bank-clerk, very thin and much caricatured, a pen thrust through his wig, stands behind an L-shaped counter offering a handful of bank-notes to John Bull. In his right hand is a scoop with which he sweeps up notes from the counter. John is a yokel no longer bewildered. He stands stolidly, holding out his left hand for the notes, his right hand in his coat pocket. Fox (right) wears a high cocked hat...
Category

1790s Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Etching, Archival Paper

“Les Revers de la Fortune”
Located in Southampton, NY
Original stipple engraving with colors titled “Les Revers de la Fortune” (Reversal of Fortune) by the well known French engraver, Louis Marin Bonnet...
Category

1780s Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Laid Paper, Engraving

Papaya and Moth Metamorphosis: 18th C. Hand-colored Engraving by Maria Merian
Located in Alamo, CA
This exquisite hand-colored 18th century folio-sized engraving of a papaya plant and moth metamorphosis is plate 64 from Maria Sibylla Merian's publication '...
Category

Early 18th Century Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Engraving

Besler Hand-colored Botanical Engraving of Flowering Tulip & Wild Garlic Plants
Located in Alamo, CA
This is a hand-colored copperplate engraving entitled "Tulipa viridiscoloris, Fritillaria iuncifolns, Allium Vrsinum" depicting flowering tulip, fritillary and wild garlic plants fro...
Category

Early 18th Century Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Engraving

“Man with Magic Show”
Located in Southampton, NY
China Trade aquatint engraving. The plate was engraved by Dadley in London after drawings by Pu Qua of Canton and published in 1799 by W. Miller of Bond Street in London. Sight size 11.5 by 9.5 inches. Under glass. Silver leaf frame with wear consistent with age. Overall framed measurements are 13.5 by 11.5 inches. Not examined out of frame. Borghese label verso. Provenance: Sarasota collector. Inscriptions read as follows: Pu-Qua. Canton. Delin. Dadley, London, Sculpt. Published May 4, 1799, by W. Miller, Old Bond Street, London. John Dadley...
Category

1790s Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Aquatint

Flowering Iris Plants: A Basilius Besler Hand-colored Botanical Engraving
Located in Alamo, CA
This is a hand-colored copper plate engraving depicting flowering "Iris latifolia violaceo colore maior; Iris latifolia vulgaris coerulea; Iris latifolia maior variegata (Tall Bearded Garden Iris and Flag Iris) plants from Basilius Besler's landmark work, Hortus Eystettensis (Garden at Eichstatt), first published in 1613 in Eichstatt, Germany near Nuremberg and later in 1640 and 1713. This beautiful hand-colored engraving is printed on thick laid chain-linked paper. There is latin text on the verso. There is pinpoint hole in the periphery on the right and another on the left. There is a very faint vertically oriented crease on the right, related to the process of drying the paper during its production, which is common with original Besler engravings...
Category

Early 18th Century Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Engraving

A set of Biblical prints after the Dutch painter and engraver Gerard Hoet
Located in London, GB
The present collection is a set of 131 prints after Gerard Hoet, the Dutch golden age painter and engraver, depicting various biblical scenes. Hoet was a leading artist in the Classicizing Dutch Academic style, and his work is defined by history paintings, with a particular interest in mythological, classical, historical, and biblical scene, in particular Old testament scenes...
Category

Early 1700s Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Paper, Ink, Black and White, Engraving

“Yellow Crested Parrot”
Located in Southampton, NY
Hand colored copper plate engraving from “The History of Birds. Plate 117 published in 1776.. “Yellow Created Parrot” Dedicated to Daniele Farsetti, a well known art collector Veni...
Category

Late 18th Century Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Engraving

Flowering Peppermint Plants: A 17th C. Besler Hand-colored Botanical Engraving
Located in Alamo, CA
This is a hand-colored copper plate engraving entitled "Pulegium Cervinum, Pseudo Pulegium Struthium, Pulegium Regium", depicting flowering Peppermint, Weld and Pennyroyal plants res...
Category

1640s Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Engraving

Flowering Feverfew Plants: A 17th C. Besler Hand-colored Botanical Engraving
Located in Alamo, CA
This is a hand-colored copper plate engraving entitled "Matricaria Flore Simplici, Matricaria Flore Pleno, depicting flowering Feverfew and Double-flowered Feverfew plants, from Basilius Besler's landmark work, Hortus Eystettensis (Garden at Eichstatt), first published in 1613 in Eichstatt, Germany near Nuremberg and later in 1640 and 1713. The feverfew plant is also known as featherfew, featherfoil, or bachelor’s buttons...
Category

1640s Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Engraving

Cactus & Rose of Jericho Plants: A Besler Hand-colored Botanical Engraving
Located in Alamo, CA
A hand-colored copper plate engraving depicting flowering "Melocactos" (Turk's Cap Cactus or Mother-in-law's Cushion), "Rosa Hiericontea aperta" (Rose of Jericho Unfolded), "Rosa Hie...
Category

Early 18th Century Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Engraving

17th Century map of Cumberland, UK by Robert Morden
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Robert Morden (British, circa 1650 – 1703) A map of Cumberland with hand colouring An engraving 14.1/4 x 16.5/8 in. (36.5 x 42.5 cm.)
Category

17th Century Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Engraving

Flowering Henbane : A Besler 18th Century Hand-colored Botanical Engraving
Located in Alamo, CA
This is a hand-colored copper plate engraving depicting flowering "Hyosciamus albus and Hyosciamus vulgaris" (Henbane) plants from Basilius Besler's landmark work, Hortus Eystettensi...
Category

Early 18th Century Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Engraving

Flowering Pomegranate & Rock Rose: A 17th C. Besler Hand-colored Engraving
Located in Alamo, CA
This is a hand-colored copper-plate engraving entitled "Cistusflore Albo, Balaustium Flore Minori Romanum, Cotinus", depicting flowering Pomegranate, Rock Rose...
Category

1640s Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Engraving

Flowering Lily Plants: A 17th C. Besler Hand-colored Botanical Engraving
Located in Alamo, CA
This is a hand-colored copper plate engraving entitled "Cataputia Vulgaris, Parietaria Sylvestris, Nummularia", depicting flowering Spanish Nut, Yellow Turk's-cap Lily, Yellow Turk's...
Category

1640s Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Engraving

Flowering Jasmine and Laurel Plants: A Besler Hand-colored Botanical Engraving
Located in Alamo, CA
This is a hand-colored copper-plate engraving entitled "Gelsiminum Catalonicum, Mairana Latifollia, Euphasiaramosa Pratensis Flore Albo, Euphasia Minus Ramosa Flore Excereruleo Purpurascente", depicting flowering Jasmine, Mountain Laurel...
Category

1710s Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Engraving

Calendula Flowers: An 18th Century Hand-colored Botanical Engraving by B. Besler
Located in Alamo, CA
A hand-colored copper plate engraving depicting "Calendula prolifera; Calendula lutea flore pleno; Calendula lute medioruffa" flowers from Basilius Besler's landmark work, Hortus Eys...
Category

Early 18th Century Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Engraving

Flowering Hyacinth & Calla Plants: A Besler Hand-colored Botanical Engraving
Located in Alamo, CA
This is a hand-colored copper plate engraving depicting flowering "Hyacinthus Comosus Spurius" (Hyacinth), "Hyacinthus Anglicus" (Blue Hyacinth), "Palma ...
Category

Early 18th Century Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Engraving

Buttercup Flowers: A Besler 18th Century Hand-colored Botanical Engraving
Located in Alamo, CA
This is a hand-colored copper plate engraving depicting Ranunculus (Persian Buttercup) flowers from Basilius Besler's landmark work, Hortus Eystettensis (Garden at Eichstatt), first ...
Category

Early 18th Century Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Engraving

Take Away the Pricks of Pleasure
By CLAUDE PARADIN (c1510-1573)
Located in Florham Park, NJ
CLAUDE PARADIN (c1510-1573) Devises Heroiques et Emblemes Woodcut. Paris, 1614. The emblem has played an important role throughout history. Found on ...
Category

17th Century Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Engraving

Bird and Beetle - Etching and watercolor (Natural History of Birds, 1741)
Located in Paris, FR
George EDWARDS Bird and beetle ('The Gowry Bird') Original engraving, enhanced with watercolor Printed signature in the plate Dated, 1741 28.8 x 23.3 cm Created for Volume I of the...
Category

1740s Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Engraving, Watercolor

"Cormar Attacking a Spirit on the Waters, " Neo-classical Etching by A. Runciman
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Cormar Attacking a Spirit on the Waters" is an etching by eighteenth-century Scottish artist Alexander Runciman, signed on the lower edge of the etching, "ARunciman inv. & fecit," i...
Category

1770s Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Etching, Paper, Ink

T-III. Vaso Antico
Located in Florham Park, NJ
CARLOS ANTONINI Manuale di Vari Ornamenti Rome, 1781-1790 Engraving. 100 Illustrations. Late eighteenth century Europe was a world in revolution. People in France were losing their heads to Louis XVI and England had a mad king...
Category

1780s Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Handmade Paper, Laid Paper

Guanabanus (Guabana or Soursop Fruit)
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, 1750-73. Hand-colored engravings. Titles highlighted with goldleaf. 100 plates. 19.5” x 13.5” Unframed. A supplement of 20 plates issued by B.C. Vogel in 1790. "The dominant influence in botanical art during the middle years of the 18th century." "One of the finest records of cultivated flowers..." "His accuracy and general excellence as a true botanical artist have never been equaled." Ehret’s praises have been sung throughout the centuries. While his training was in gardening, Ehret's true talents were in his art. Drawing the specimens from life in the garden's in which he labored won Ehret his employer's praise and his co-workers jealousy. Not only were his botanical portraits highly accurate in every technical detail, they reflected an awe-inspiring love of subject. A restless man, Ehret wandered from Heidelberg through Germany to Vienna and Basle, working his way to Paris and finally settling in London. He was honored by peers and patrons wherever he traveled. Ehret's list of benefactors include the most brilliant and generous members of society in his day. However, it was Christoph Trew, a wealthy physician, lifelong supporter and friend, who published the work for which Ehret is best known, Plantae Selectae. Ehret went to Leiden to meet Carolus Linnaeus and they became the best of friends. It is the Linnaen classification of plants to which Ehret subscribed. In distinguishing of the sexual systems of plants and the cross-sectioning of specimens, based on the teachings of Linnaeus, Ehret's illustrations have become the standard followed by horticulturists throughout the centuries. Ehret is the only foreigner to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in England. The illustrations for Plantae Selectae were printed in black and white and painstaking colored by hand at the time of publication. The color is superb! All of the initial words of the titles were gilded; a glorious tribute to an achievement of excellence. Various scholars at the time of publication praised the book highly, singling out the excellent quality of Ehret's watercolor studies, as well as Haid's fidelity to them. In a letter to Linnaeus in the 1750's, Dr. Trew called the book "one of the miracles of our century in the natural sciences." In the 1960's, Claus Nissen wrote "the Plantae Selectae became the most beautiful German plant...
Category

1750s Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Gold Leaf

Heliocarpus (Tree, Malvales)
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, 1750-73. Hand-colored engravings. Titles highlighted with goldleaf. 100 plates. 19.5” x 13.5” Unframed. A supplement of 20 plates issued by B.C. Vogel in 1790. "The dominant influence in botanical art during the middle years of the 18th century." "One of the finest records of cultivated flowers..." "His accuracy and general excellence as a true botanical artist have never been equaled." Ehret’s praises have been sung throughout the centuries. While his training was in gardening, Ehret's true talents were in his art. Drawing the specimens from life in the garden's in which he labored won Ehret his employer's praise and his co-workers jealousy. Not only were his botanical portraits highly accurate in every technical detail, they reflected an awe-inspiring love of subject. A restless man, Ehret wandered from Heidelberg through Germany to Vienna and Basle, working his way to Paris and finally settling in London. He was honored by peers and patrons wherever he traveled. Ehret's list of benefactors include the most brilliant and generous members of society in his day. However, it was Christoph Trew, a wealthy physician, lifelong supporter and friend, who published the work for which Ehret is best known, Plantae Selectae. Ehret went to Leiden to meet Carolus Linnaeus and they became the best of friends. It is the Linnaen classification of plants to which Ehret subscribed. In distinguishing of the sexual systems of plants and the cross-sectioning of specimens, based on the teachings of Linnaeus, Ehret's illustrations have become the standard followed by horticulturists throughout the centuries. Ehret is the only foreigner to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in England. The illustrations for Plantae Selectae were printed in black and white and painstaking colored by hand at the time of publication. The color is superb! All of the initial words of the titles were gilded; a glorious tribute to an achievement of excellence. Various scholars at the time of publication praised the book highly, singling out the excellent quality of Ehret's watercolor studies, as well as Haid's fidelity to them. In a letter to Linnaeus in the 1750's, Dr. Trew called the book "one of the miracles of our century in the natural sciences." In the 1960's, Claus Nissen wrote "the Plantae Selectae became the most beautiful German plant...
Category

1750s Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Gold Leaf

Le Cygne (Swan)
Located in Florham Park, NJ
George-Louis Leclerec, Comte de Buffon. HistoireNaturell, Generale et Particuliere avec la Description du Cabiner du Roi. Paris, 1749 Drawings by Jacques E. DeSeve. Engravings with l...
Category

1740s Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Watercolor, Engraving

Meriana (Bugle Lily)
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, 1750-73. Hand-colored engravings. Titles highlighted with goldleaf. 100 plates. 19.5” x 13.5” Unframed. A supplement of 20 plates issued by B.C. Vogel in 1790. "The dominant influence in botanical art during the middle years of the 18th century." "One of the finest records of cultivated flowers..." "His accuracy and general excellence as a true botanical artist have never been equaled." Ehret’s praises have been sung throughout the centuries. While his training was in gardening, Ehret's true talents were in his art. Drawing the specimens from life in the garden's in which he labored won Ehret his employer's praise and his co-workers jealousy. Not only were his botanical portraits highly accurate in every technical detail, they reflected an awe-inspiring love of subject. A restless man, Ehret wandered from Heidelberg through Germany to Vienna and Basle, working his way to Paris and finally settling in London. He was honored by peers and patrons wherever he traveled. Ehret's list of benefactors include the most brilliant and generous members of society in his day. However, it was Christoph Trew, a wealthy physician, lifelong supporter and friend, who published the work for which Ehret is best known, Plantae Selectae. Ehret went to Leiden to meet Carolus Linnaeus and they became the best of friends. It is the Linnaen classification of plants to which Ehret subscribed. In distinguishing of the sexual systems of plants and the cross-sectioning of specimens, based on the teachings of Linnaeus, Ehret's illustrations have become the standard followed by horticulturists throughout the centuries. Ehret is the only foreigner to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in England. The illustrations for Plantae Selectae were printed in black and white and painstaking colored by hand at the time of publication. The color is superb! All of the initial words of the titles were gilded; a glorious tribute to an achievement of excellence. Various scholars at the time of publication praised the book highly, singling out the excellent quality of Ehret's watercolor studies, as well as Haid's fidelity to them. In a letter to Linnaeus in the 1750's, Dr. Trew called the book "one of the miracles of our century in the natural sciences." In the 1960's, Claus Nissen wrote "the Plantae Selectae became the most beautiful German plant...
Category

1750s Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Gold Leaf

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 Prints and Multiples

Materials

Gold Leaf

Traveling animals - Original etching enhanced with watercolor
Located in Paris, FR
George EDWARDS Traveling animals Original engraving enhanced with watercolor Signed in the plate and dated, 1746 28.6 x 23.5 cm From Volume II of the Natural History of Birds, plat...
Category

1740s Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Engraving

Paeonia polyanthos maior flore (Peony)
Located in Florham Park, NJ
BASIL BESLER (1561 – 1629). Hortus Eystettensis. Konrad Bauer. Altdorf, 1613, 1640, 1713 – 50. Copper plate engravings with modern hand-color 374 plates....
Category

1710s Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Engraving

The Blew Linnet
Located in Florham Park, NJ
MARK CATESBY. (1682(83)-1749). The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands. Drawn by Mark Catesby and G.D. Ehret. Etched by MarkCatesby. London, 1731-43. 160 copi...
Category

Mid-18th Century Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Watercolor, Etching

La Demoiselle de Numidie (Crane)
Located in Florham Park, NJ
George-Louis Leclerec, Comte de Buffon. HistoireNaturell, Generale et Particuliere avec la Description du Cabiner du Roi. Paris, 1749 Drawings by Jacques E. DeSeve. Engravings with l...
Category

1740s Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Watercolor, Engraving

Root Vegetables (Carrot, Turnip, Radish, Parsnip, etc.)
Located in Florham Park, NJ
JOHN PARKINSON (1567-1650). Paradisi in Sole Paradisus Terrestris. Published by Thrale. London, 1629. Woodcuts by Christopher Switzer. Later hand color. 110 woodcuts. "...a Garden of all sorts of pleasant flowers which our English are will permit to be noursed up...". Parkinson's work is among the most famous English gardening books...
Category

1620s Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Woodcut

Lizard Le Mabouya
Located in Florham Park, NJ
George-Louis Leclerec, Comte de Buffon. HistoireNaturell, Generale et Particuliere avec la Description du Cabiner du Roi. Paris, 1749 Drawings by Jacques E. DeSeve. Engravings with l...
Category

1740s Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Watercolor, Engraving

Lizard Le Chalcide
Located in Florham Park, NJ
George-Louis Leclerec, Comte de Buffon. HistoireNaturell, Generale et Particuliere avec la Description du Cabiner du Roi. Paris, 1749 Drawings by Jacques E. DeSeve. Engravings with l...
Category

1740s Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Watercolor, Engraving

Plate IX. Palissade. (Butterfly)
Located in Florham Park, NJ
MARIA SIBYLLA MERIAN (1647-1717) Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium… (Insects of Surinam) Amsterdam, 1705 Hand-colored engravings. Born in Frankfurt, Germany, then a free i...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Academic Prints and Multiples

Lizard Le Dore
Located in Florham Park, NJ
George-Louis Leclerec, Comte de Buffon. HistoireNaturell, Generale et Particuliere avec la Description du Cabiner du Roi. Paris, 1749 Drawings by Jacques E. DeSeve. Engravings with l...
Category

1740s Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Watercolor, Engraving

Alcea Syriaca (Hollyhocks)
Located in Florham Park, NJ
BASIL BESLER (1561 – 1629). Hortus Eystettensis. Konrad Bauer. Altdorf, 1613, 1640, 1713 – 50. Copper plate engravings with modern hand-color 374 plates. 21 ¼” to 21 ½” x 16” t...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Engraving

"Marriage of St. Margaret and King Malcolm, " Original Etching by A. Runciman
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"The Marriage of Saint Margaret and King Malcolm" is an etching by Scottish artist Alexander Runciman. There is an engraved signature with the artist's monogram followed by "pinxit et fecit," indicating that Runciman both designed the original drawing and likely executed the etching on the metal plate. On the left, a young woman with a halo in fine dress stoops slightly and gathers her skirts as she leans over to accept the ring that the man on the right is reaching to place upon her finger. He is also young, dressed finely, and wearing a crown. Between them, a church official with a pointed hat and a long flowing beard recites the appropriate prayers for the occasion, while onlookers crowd in the background. The tiled floor demonstrates the use of one-point perspective, and the church appears to be in the Gothic style. Art size: 8 3/4" x 7 1/4" Frame size: 26 1/2" x 22 3/8" Alexander Runciman (Edinburgh 15 August 1736 – 4 October 1785 Edinburgh) was a Scottish painter of historical and mythological subjects. He was the elder brother of John Runciman, also a painter. He was born in Edinburgh, and studied at the Foulis Academy, Glasgow, and from 1750 to 1762 he was apprenticed to the landscape painter Robert Norie, later becoming a partner in the Norie family firm. He also worked as a stage painter for the Theatre Royal in Edinburgh. In 1767, he went to Rome, where he spent five years. His brother John accompanied him, but died in Naples in the winter of 1768–69. During Runciman's stay in Italy he became acquainted with other artists such as Henry Fuseli and the sculptor Johan Tobias Sergel...
Category

1770s Academic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Etching

Academic prints and multiples for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Academic prints and multiples 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 prints and multiples 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 and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Owen Jones, Paul Jones b.1921, John James Audubon, and Basilius Besler. Frequently made by artists working with Lithograph, and Engraving 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 prints and multiples, so small editions measuring 1.5 inches across are also available. Prices for prints and multiples 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 $50 and tops out at $26,100, while the average work sells for $650.

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