What Is Academic Art?

What is Academic Art?
In fine art, the term "Academic art" (sometimes also "academicism" or "eclecticism") is traditionally used to
describe the style of true-to-life but highminded realist painting and sculpture championed by the European
academies of art, notably the French Academy of Fine Arts. This "official" or "approved" style of art, which
later came to be closely associated with Neoclassical painting and to a lesser extent
the Symbolism movement, was embodied in a number of painterly and sculptural conventions to be followed
by all artists. In particular, there was a strong emphasis on the intellectual element, combined with a fixed set
of aesthetics. Above all, paintings should contain a suitably highminded message. Artists whose works have
come to typify the ideals of academic art include Peter-Paul Rubens (1577-1640), Nicolas Poussin (1594-
1665), Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825), Jean-Antoine Gros (1771-1835), J.A.D. Ingres (1780-1867) Paul
Delaroche (1797-1856), Ernest Meissonier (1815-91), Jean-Leon Gerome (1824-1904), Alexandre Cabanel
(1823-89), Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (1824-98), Thomas Couture (1815-79), and William-Adolphe
Bouguereau (1825-1905).
The history of the French Academy - whose formation only gained official approval as a means of boosting the
political authority of the King - perfectly illustrates the problems of establishing such a monolithic system of
cultural control. From its foundation in 1648, the French Academy sought to impose its authority on the
teaching, production and exhibition of fine art, but subsequently proved incapable of modernizing or adapting
to changing tastes and techniques. As a result, by the 19th century it was increasingly ignored and sidelined,
as modern artists such as Gustave Courbet, Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, and Pablo Picasso revolutionized
the theory and practice of art.
Origins
From the sixteenth century onwards, a number of specialized art schools sprang up across Europe, beginning
in Italy. These schools - known as 'academies' - were originally sponsored by a patron of the arts (typically the
pope, a King or a Prince), and undertook to educate young artists according to the classical theories
of Renaissance art. The development of these artistic academies was a culmination of the effort (begun
by Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo) to upgrade the status of practising artists, to distinguish them from
mere craftsmen engaged in manual labour, and to emancipate them from the power of the guilds. For more,
see History of Academic Art (below).
What is Academic Art?
In fine art, the term "Academic art" (sometimes also "academicism" or "eclecticism") is traditionally used to
describe the style of true-to-life but highminded realist painting and sculpture championed by the European
academies of art, notably the French Academy of Fine Arts. This "official" or "approved" style of art, which
later came to be closely associated with Neoclassical painting and to a lesser extent
the Symbolism movement, was embodied in a number of painterly and sculptural conventions to be followed
by all artists. In particular, there was a strong emphasis on the intellectual element, combined with a fixed set
of aesthetics. Above all, paintings should contain a suitably highminded message. Artists whose works have
come to typify the ideals of academic art include Peter-Paul Rubens (1577-1640), Nicolas Poussin (1594-
1665), Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825), Jean-Antoine Gros (1771-1835), J.A.D. Ingres (1780-1867) Paul
Delaroche (1797-1856), Ernest Meissonier (1815-91), Jean-Leon Gerome (1824-1904), Alexandre Cabanel
(1823-89), Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (1824-98), Thomas Couture (1815-79), and William-Adolphe
Bouguereau (1825-1905).
The history of the French Academy - whose formation only gained official approval as a means of boosting the
political authority of the King - perfectly illustrates the problems of establishing such a monolithic system of
cultural control. From its foundation in 1648, the French Academy sought to impose its authority on the
teaching, production and exhibition of fine art, but subsequently proved incapable of modernizing or adapting
to changing tastes and techniques. As a result, by the 19th century it was increasingly ignored and sidelined,
as modern artists such as Gustave Courbet, Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, and Pablo Picasso revolutionized
the theory and practice of art.
Origins
From the sixteenth century onwards, a number of specialized art schools sprang up across Europe, beginning
in Italy. These schools - known as 'academies' - were originally sponsored by a patron of the arts (typically the
pope, a King or a Prince), and undertook to educate young artists according to the classical theories
of Renaissance art. The development of these artistic academies was a culmination of the effort (begun
by Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo) to upgrade the status of practising artists, to distinguish them from
mere craftsmen engaged in manual labour, and to emancipate them from the power of the guilds. For more,
see History of Academic Art (below).
• The paint surface should be smooth with no trace of

brushstrokes. Impasto was out, expressive brushwork was out: the Academy
insisted upon a polished finish. Academic art, or academicism or academism, is a
style of painting and sculpture produced under the influence of European academies of
art. Specifically, academic art is the art and artists influenced by the standards of the
French Académie des Beaux-Arts, which was practiced under the movements
of Neoclassicism and Romanticism, and the art that followed these two movements in
the attempt to synthesize both of their styles, and which is best reflected by the
paintings of William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Thomas Couture, and Hans Makart. In this
context it is often called "academism," "academicism," "art pompier" (pejoratively), and
"eclecticism," and sometimes linked with "historicism" and "syncretism." Academic art is
closely related to Beaux-Arts architecture, which developed in the same place and holds
to a similar classicizing ideal. Since the onset of the Poussiniste-Rubeniste debate, many
artists worked between the two styles. In the 19th century, in the revived form of the
debate, the attention and the aims of the art world became to synthesize the line
of Neoclassicism with the color of Romanticism. One artist after another was claimed by
critics to have achieved the synthesis, among them Théodore Chassériau, Ary
Scheffer, Francesco Hayez, Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps, and Thomas Couture. William-
Adolphe Bouguereau, a later academic artist, commented that the trick to being a good
painter is seeing "color and line as the same thing." Thomas Couture promoted the
same idea in a book he authored on art method—arguing that whenever one said a
painting had better color or better line it was nonsense, because whenever color
appeared brilliant it depended on line to convey it, and vice versa; and that color was
really a way to talk about the "value" of form.
Another development during this period included adopting historical styles in order to
show the era in history that the painting depicted, called historicism. This is best seen in
the work of Baron Jan August Hendrik Leys, a later influence on James Tissot. It's also seen
in the development of the Neo-Grec style. Historicism is also meant to refer to the belief
and practice associated with academic art that one should incorporate and conciliate
the innovations of different traditions of art from the past.
The art world also grew to give increasing focus on allegory in art. Theories of the
importance of both line and color asserted that through these elements an artist exerts
control over the medium to create psychological effects, in which themes, emotions, and
ideas can be represented. As artists attempted to synthesize these theories in practice,
the attention on the artwork as an allegorical or figurative vehicle was emphasized. It
was held that the representations in painting and sculpture should evoke Platonic forms,
or ideals, where behind ordinary depictions one would glimpse something abstract,
some eternal truth. Hence, Keats' famous musing "Beauty is truth, truth beauty." The
paintings were desired to be an "idée," a full and complete idea. Bouguereau is known to
have said that he wouldn't paint "a war," but would paint "War." Many paintings by
academic artists are simple nature allegories with titles like Dawn, Dusk, Seeing,
and Tasting, where these ideas are personified by a single nude figure, composed in
such a way as to bring out the essence of the idea.
The trend in art was also towards greater idealism, which is contrary to realism, in that
the figures depicted were made simpler and more abstract—idealized—in order to be
able to represent the ideals they stood in for. This would involve both generalizing
forms seen in nature, and subordinating them to the unity and theme of the artwork.
Because history and mythology were considered as plays or dialectics of ideas, a fertile
ground for important allegory, using themes from these subjects was considered the
most serious form of painting. A hierarchy of genres, originally created in the 17th
century, was valued, where history painting—classical, religious, mythological, literary,
and allegorical subjects—was placed at the top, next genre painting, then portraiture, still-
life, and landscape. History painting was also known as the "grande genre." Paintings
of Hans Makart are often larger than life historical dramas, and he combined this with
a historicism in decoration to dominate the style of 19th century Vienna culture. Paul
Delaroche is a typifying example of French history painting.
All of these trends were influenced by the theories of the philosopher Hegel, who held
that history was a dialectic of competing ideas, which eventually resolved in synthesis.
Towards the end of the 19th century, academic art had saturated European society.
Exhibitions were held often, and the most popular exhibition was the Paris Salon and
beginning in 1903, the Salon d'Automne. These salons were sensational events that
attracted crowds of visitors, both native and foreign. As much a social affair as an artistic
one, 50,000 people might visit on a single Sunday, and as many as 500,000 could see
the exhibition during its two-month run. Thousands of pictures were displayed, hung
from just below eye level all the way up to the ceiling in a manner now known as "Salon
style." A successful showing at the salon was a seal of approval for an artist, making his
work saleable to the growing ranks of private collectors. Bouguereau, Alexandre
Cabanel and Jean-Léon Gérôme were leading figures of this art world.
During the reign of academic art, the paintings of the Rococo era, previously held in low
favor, were revived to popularity, and themes often used in Rococo art such
as Eros and Psyche were popular again. The academic art world also idolized Raphael, for
the ideality of his work, in fact preferring him over Michelangelo.
Academic art in Poland flourished under Jan Matejko, who established the Kraków
Academy of Fine Arts. Many of these works can be seen in the Gallery of 19th-Century
Polish Art at Sukiennice in Kraków.
Academic art not only held influence in Europe and the United States, but also extended
its influence to other Western countries. This was especially true for Latin
American nations, which, because their revolutions were modeled on the French
Revolution, sought to emulate French culture. An example of a Latin American academic
artist is Ángel Zárraga of Mexico.

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• The paint surface should be smooth with no trace of

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