Editing Academic art (section)

===Stylistic trends and contradictions===
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.

====Historicism====
[[File:Jacques-Louis David, Le Serment des Horaces.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.3|[[Jacques-Louis David]], ''[[Oath of the Horatii]]'', 1784. A typical historical work of the [[Neoclassicism|neoclassical]] period, politically and ethically engaged.]]

Another development during this period, called [[historicism (art)|historicism]], included adopting historic styles or imitating the work of historic artists and artisans in order to show the era in history that the painting depicted. In the [[history of art]], after Neoclassicism which in the Romantic era could itself be considered a historicist movement, the 19th century included a new historicist phase characterized by an interpretation not only of [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] and [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] [[classicism]], but also of succeeding stylistic eras, which were increasingly respected. This is best seen in the work of Baron [[Jan August Hendrik Leys]], a later influence on [[James Tissot]]. It is 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.

====Allegory in art====
[[File:Thomas_Cole_-_Architect’s_Dream_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|[[Thomas Cole]], ''[[The Architect's Dream]]'', 1840. An [[allegory|allegorical]] illustration of [[Historicism]] inspiring art.]]

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 form]]s, or ideals, where behind ordinary depictions one would glimpse something abstract, some eternal truth. Hence, [[John Keats|Keats']] famous musing "Beauty is truth, truth beauty". The paintings were desired to be an "idée", a full and complete idea. [[Adolphe William Bouguereau|Bouguereau]] is known to have said that he would not 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.

====Idealism====
[[File:Alexandre Cabanel - The Birth of Venus - Google Art Project 2.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.3|''[[The Birth of Venus (Cabanel)|The Birth of Venus]]'', [[Alexandre Cabanel]], 1863. An idealistic and sensual form of classical imagery.]]

Stylistically, academic art cultivated the ideal of perfection and at the same time selective imitation of reality ([[mimesis]]), which had existed since [[Aristotle]]. With perfect mastery of color, light and shadow, forms were created in a quasi-photorealistic manner. Some paintings have a "polished finish" where no brushstroke can be recognized on the finished work. After the oil sketch, the artist would produce the final painting with the academic "fini", changing the painting to meet stylistic standards and attempting to idealize the images and add perfect detail. Similarly, [[perspective (visual)|perspective]] was constructed geometrically on a flat surface and was not really the product of sight.

The trend in art was also towards greater [[idealism (arts)|idealism]], which is contrary to [[realism (arts)|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.

====Hierarchy of genres====
[[File:Makart hans der einzug karls v in antwerpen.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|[[Hans Makart]], ''The Entry of Charles V into Antwerp'', 1878. An illustrative work of the prestigious "historical genre".]]

The representation of the various emotions was codified in detail by academicism<ref>Barasch, Moshe. [https://books.google.com/books?id=n07eWPU1RnAC&dq=%22academic+art%22&pg=PA316 ''Theories of Art: From Plato to Winckelmann'']. Routledge, 2000. {{p.|333–334}}</ref> and the artistic genres themselves were subjected to a scale of prestige. Because history and mythology were considered plays or [[dialectic]]s of ideas, a fertile ground for important allegory, using themes from these subjects was regarded as the most serious form of painting. This hierarchy of genres, originally created in the 17th century, was highly valued, where [[history painting]] (also known as the "grande genre")—classical, religious, mythological, literary, and allegorical subjects—was placed at the top, followed by "minor genres"—[[portrait]]ure, [[Genre works|genre painting]], [[Landscape painting|landscape]]s, and [[still-life]]s.<ref name="Hierarchy">[http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/history-of-art/hierarchy-of-genres.htm ''Hierarchy of the Genres'']. Encyclopedia of Irish and World Art</ref><ref name="Kemp">Kemp, Martín. [https://books.google.com/books?id=95J-ppmZmt8C&dq=%22academic+art%22&pg=PA218 ''The Oxford history of Western art'']. Oxford University Press US, 2000. {{p.|218–219}}</ref>

The historical genre, the most appreciated, included works that conveyed themes of an inspirational and ennobling nature, essentially with an ethical background, consistent with the tradition founded by masters such as Michelangelo, [[Raffaello Santi|Raphael]] and [[Leonardo da Vinci]]. [[Paul Delaroche]] is a typifying example of French history painting and [[Benjamin West]] of the [[British America|British-American]] vogue for painting scenes from recent history. Paintings by [[Hans Makart]] are often larger than life historical dramas, and he combined this with a [[historicism (art)|historicism]] in decoration to dominate the style of 19th-century [[Vienna]] culture. Portraits included large-format depictions of people, suitable for their public glorification, but also smaller pieces for private use. Everyday scenes, also known as genre scenes, portrayed common life in a symbolic manner, landscapes offered perspectives of idealized virgin nature or city panoramas, and still-lifes consisted of groupings of diverse objects in formal compositions.<ref name="Hierarchy" /><ref name="Kemp" />

The justification for this hierarchization lay in the idea that each genre had an inherent and specific moral force. Thus, an artist could convey a moral principle with much more power and ease through a historical scene than, for example, through a still-life. Furthermore, following Greek concepts, it was believed that the highest form of art was the ideal representation of the human body, hence landscapes and still-lifes, in which man did not appear, had little prestige. Finally, with a primarily social and didactic function, academic art favored large works and large-format portraits, more suitable for viewing by large groups of spectators and better suited to decorating public spaces.<ref name="Hierarchy" /><ref name="Kemp" />

All of these trends were influenced by the theories of the [[German philosophy|German philosopher]] [[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel|Hegel]], who held that history was a [[dialectic]] of competing ideas, which eventually resolved in synthesis.