Academic Classicism Paintings

Academic Classicism is a style of painting produced under the influence of European academies of art. Specifically, Academic Classicism is the art and artists influenced by the standards of the French Academie des Beaux-Arts, which 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, Paul Delaroche , Jean-Leon Gerome, and Hans Makart. These masters of Academic Classicism had an extraordinary way of capturing nature's tempestuous, "feral" qualities and yet, at the same time, create in the viewer an almost inspirational feeling of harmony and serenity. High drama, blithe sophistication, and unrequited passion characterize this magnificent painting style.