Academic Prints and Multiples
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.
17th Century Academic Prints and Multiples
ABS, Woodcut
1750s Academic Prints and Multiples
Watercolor, Engraving
1750s Academic Prints and Multiples
Watercolor, Engraving
18th Century and Earlier Academic Prints and Multiples
Engraving, Watercolor
18th Century and Earlier Academic Prints and Multiples
Engraving, Watercolor
18th Century and Earlier Academic Prints and Multiples
Engraving, Gouache, Watercolor
18th Century and Earlier Academic Prints and Multiples
Engraving, Gouache, Watercolor
18th Century and Earlier Academic Prints and Multiples
Etching, Watercolor
18th Century and Earlier Academic Prints and Multiples
Woodcut
18th Century and Earlier Academic Prints and Multiples
Woodcut
18th Century and Earlier Academic Prints and Multiples
Engraving
18th Century and Earlier Academic Prints and Multiples
Engraving
18th Century and Earlier Academic Prints and Multiples
Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Tape, Laid Paper, Plexiglass, Watercolor
18th Century and Earlier Academic Prints and Multiples
Archival Paper, Archival Tape, Handmade Paper, Ink, Plexiglass
18th Century and Earlier Academic Prints and Multiples
Ink, Plexiglass, Archival Paper, Archival Tape, Handmade Paper
18th Century and Earlier Academic Prints and Multiples
Laid Paper, Handmade Paper
Early 1700s Academic Prints and Multiples
Engraving
1740s Academic Prints and Multiples
Watercolor, Engraving
Mid-17th Century Academic Prints and Multiples
Engraving
1790s Academic Prints and Multiples
Etching, Archival Paper
1780s Academic Prints and Multiples
Laid Paper, Engraving
Early 18th Century Academic Prints and Multiples
Engraving
Early 18th Century Academic Prints and Multiples
Engraving
1790s Academic Prints and Multiples
Aquatint
Early 18th Century Academic Prints and Multiples
Engraving
Early 1700s Academic Prints and Multiples
Paper, Ink, Black and White, Engraving
Late 18th Century Academic Prints and Multiples
Engraving
1640s Academic Prints and Multiples
Engraving
1640s Academic Prints and Multiples
Engraving
Early 18th Century Academic Prints and Multiples
Engraving
17th Century Academic Prints and Multiples
Engraving
Early 18th Century Academic Prints and Multiples
Engraving
1640s Academic Prints and Multiples
Engraving
1640s Academic Prints and Multiples
Engraving
1710s Academic Prints and Multiples
Engraving
Early 18th Century Academic Prints and Multiples
Engraving
Early 18th Century Academic Prints and Multiples
Engraving
Early 18th Century Academic Prints and Multiples
Engraving
17th Century Academic Prints and Multiples
Engraving
1740s Academic Prints and Multiples
Engraving, Watercolor
1770s Academic Prints and Multiples
Etching, Paper, Ink
1780s Academic Prints and Multiples
Handmade Paper, Laid Paper
1750s Academic Prints and Multiples
Gold Leaf
1750s Academic Prints and Multiples
Gold Leaf
1740s Academic Prints and Multiples
Watercolor, Engraving
1750s Academic Prints and Multiples
Gold Leaf
1750s Academic Prints and Multiples
Gold Leaf
1740s Academic Prints and Multiples
Engraving
1710s Academic Prints and Multiples
Engraving
Mid-18th Century Academic Prints and Multiples
Watercolor, Etching
1740s Academic Prints and Multiples
Watercolor, Engraving
1620s Academic Prints and Multiples
Woodcut
1740s Academic Prints and Multiples
Watercolor, Engraving
1740s Academic Prints and Multiples
Watercolor, Engraving
18th Century and Earlier Academic Prints and Multiples
1740s Academic Prints and Multiples
Watercolor, Engraving
18th Century and Earlier Academic Prints and Multiples
Engraving
1770s Academic Prints and Multiples
Etching