ACADEMIC ART (c. 1800 - 1900)

by Jo Colley 10:14 0 comments

Academic Art was the period in history in which official institutions were set up in order to both teach and exhibit art that was favoured by the schools for using the techniques and processes celebrated by such Academies. In the 19th Century, institutions such as The Paris Salon, the Academie des Beaux-Arts set up in 1725 were the hub for Academic Art in Europe up until the 1890's. In 1863, the Salon des Refuses was the institution set up as a reaction to the work that was rejected from the Paris Salon, exhibiting the more unconventional and controversial side of the art period.

The introduction of Academic art meant that art was now made into an industry itself, with exhibition of art really beginning to take off, this meant that prospective artists were submitting their with the purpose of recognition and criticism. This changed the landscape of European art up until the current day, changing the way in which art became accessible to the public eye. However, Academic Art is largely known for the masterpieces it rejected, with these artworks being the most famous now, rather than artworks the Salon accepted.

Characteristics of Academic Art

Characteristics of Academic art and therefore taught by the Parisian schools which lie within the mediums of sculpture and oil paintings. all of which looking to portray technical and intellectual skills, an Apollonian ideal. They all displayed ideas and subject matter that spanned through Neoclassicism, Romanticism and later on, Impressionism. These qualities can be found in the work of artists such as Paul Delaroche and Thomas Couture.

"The Execution of Lady Jane Grey" by Paul Delaroche, painted in 1833 using
Oil on Canvas.

The painting above, by painter Paul Delaroche, as common to the period, depicts a historical scene of the beheading of Lady Jane Grey, a well known point in history. It also appears to focus on the Romanticism of the scene, focusing on the figures around her rather than on Lady Jane Grey herself, paying attention to their emotions. It shows very technical skills and abilities in it's painting and has been a major exhibit at the Salon.

The Paris Salon

The Parisian Salon was an art exhibition space, opened in 1677, becoming particularly popular in the 19th Century. The space was reserved for students of the Academie des Beaux-Arts, with artworks judged and qualified for the exhibition based on their skills.

A major quality of The Salon that made it recognized and distinguishable from modern day art galleries is the sheer mass of artworks it exhibited, the walls of it's rooms were filled inch-by-inch with students paintings, from floor to ceiling. The Paris Salon was filled with artworks such as Thomas Couture's The Romans of The Decadence from 1847 and William Adolphe Bouguereau's Birth of Venus from 1879.

William Adolphe Bouguereau's "The Birth of Venus",
painted by oil on canvas, 1879.

"The Birth of Venus" as painted by Sandro Botticelli,
1486.

The image above, Bouguereau's Birth of Venus, painted in 1879, is an example of how the students at the Salon would look back to previous artworks from more Apollonian art periods, such as the Renaissance, and imitate or even copy the subject matter or techniques by applying their own techniques. For instance, Bouguereau's own rendition of the Birth of Venus is an imitation of the painting of the same name by Sandro Botticelli. When compared, it can be noticed that the image on the left, from the Academic period, is painted with thicker brushstrokes, using impasto technique, it is more realist in it's painting and focuses more on skills than the subject matter. The Renaissance painting on the right, however, is more stylized and painted with the mythology in mind. 

Royal Academy of Arts

Founded by Joshua Reynolds, under King George III, the Royal Academy of Arts, London is an art school built in 1768 in hopes of promoting the cause of professionalism in the arts and design industry. The image below, taken in the 21st Century shows how popular the galleries at the Royal Academy still are. Similarly to the Paris Salon, paintings still cover a large proportion of the wall space. 

Galleries at the Royal Academy of Art, London for the 2011 Summer Exhibition.

Johann Zoffany's "The Academicians of the Royal Academy" (1771 - 1772).

The image above gives us an insight of the studios of the Royal Academy, showing the room filled with people and two life models to the right, it bares some similarities to art schools in the 21st Century even, showing the model at which art schools following on from this were built upon. The painting itself is constructed in the way of much Academic art, showing how sculpture was included in Academic art as students started to learn to paint their own surroundings.

The Salon des Refuses

Many artworks were rejected by the Paris Salon, much of these were turned away due to their unconventional techniques or subject matter. Many of the rejected works were then found by an establishment built in reaction to the Salon's system, named the Salon des Refuses. The Salon des Refuses was constructed in 1863 after many artworks that year had not been exhibited.

"The Luncheon on the Grass" by Edouard Manet from 1863's Salon des Refuses.

The image above, The Luncheon on the Grass by Edouard Manet was a key image in the Salon des Refuses existence. It was an image based on a painting by an Old Master, but it's subject matter was considered unacceptable by the Salon. This was the reason for the Salon des Refuses. The casual nude female form was too controversial while painting men fully dressed. There was a similar negative reaction to Olympia, painted in 1863. This painting was thought to include a reclining nude of a prostitute with a black woman as a maid, this was thought to also be unsavory and was subsequently added to the Salon des Refuses.

Other Key Artists

Other artists included in the Academic era of art attended a variety of high profile art schools, with many people migrating across Europe and from beyond. One of these artists is Frederic Edwin Church. Church has been considered to be one of the greatest American landscape painters in history. His observations for such landscape paintings took him to both the North and South Americas to record natural phenomena in a Romanticist style. Using a new elevated viewpoint and distant horizon, he was a major figure that attended the Hudson River school for landscape painting. One of his most important works was Aurora Borealis painted in 1865, depicting the Northern Lights phenomena with an observation close to photo-realism, paying close attention to light and tonal value.

"Aurora Borealis" by Frederic Edwin Church, painted with Oil on Canvas in 1865.

Another important artist during this period was another American artist, Thomas Cole. The founder of the same school as Church, Cole taught at the Hudson River School. Cole was conservative in his understanding of Academic art and Romantic in his painting style. His landscape painting was mixed with a subject matter that overlapped with mythology and biblical ideas. 

"The Course of Empire" by Thomas Cole, 1836, painted by Oil on Canvas.

The Course of Empire by Thomas Cole symbolises the way in which Academic Art was still stuck in the past, imitating the art and landscapes of the Greek Empire and other historical scenes.

To conclude, Academic art is a culmination of the past and skills acquired from traditional means of oil painting, brush marks, perspective etc. The field of Academic art in history proves the competitiveness that is rife in the European art world, however, despite institutions such as the Royal Academy, the Hudson River School and the Salon, it is it's reactionary movement found in the Salon des Refuses that defines the 19th Century of art, through it's ground breaking subject matter. This put artists such as Manet on the map and changing the way we move through art history.