ACADEMIC REALISM
What is Academic Realism?
Academic realism, also referred to as academic art or representational art, shows the world as it is. Its name refers to the strict realism taught at art schools, going back to the first art academy founded in Florence in the mid-sixteenth century. This style became the norm in Western art for centuries, taught at prestigious art schools like the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris and the Royal Academy in London.
What Did Academic Artists Paint?
Historical scenes and religious depictions were the genres most admired among academic artists. Academic art flourished in the mid-nineteenth century when Académie des Beaux-Arts faculty served as the art world’s ultimate tastemakers through the Salon.
The Impact of Academic Realism
Although the rise of modernist art movements led to greater decentralization of artistic authority, academic artwork became widely accepted and admired by the general public. And while the movement fractured as we moved into the twentieth century, the principles of Academic realism persist as the foundation for many artists even to this day.
