Project Description
Despite the strong currents of pure abstraction during the mid-twentieth century, Dimitrie Berea forded his own path. Taking after and expanding upon the Fauves and Impressionists, Berea had exhibited internationally from the age of 19. Originally trained at the Bucharest Academy of Architecture, Berea remained in Bucharest and opened an art school, Ileana. Coming to terms with art as his passion, Berea decided that the only place where he could truly express his talents was in Paris. Upon arrival in Paris, he joined the “Paris School,” which eschewed the radical abstraction of Cubism and Futurism. Instead, Berea and his artistic colleagues such as Vuillard and Bonnard opted to paint local scenes and people as vividly as they were seen. Ever the Bohemian, Berea would not settle in Paris, travelling and working in all the art capitals of Europe and the United States. This painting is of the Edinburgh Castle, in Scotland. The fortress dominated the Edinburgh skyline, and the area around it is increasingly cosmopolitan. This painting captures the essence of a vibrant city full of history. In 1972, Berea married Princess Alice Gurielli, a fellow Romanian who Berea was madly in love with. Unfortunately, this romance was short lived, as Dimitrie Berea died after a long battle with cancer in 1975. In 1998, Princess Alice Gurielli Berea Terres read an article in the New York Times discussing Berea College. Her former husband, Romanian artist- painter Dimitrie Berea, at his death had left her a large collection of his drawings, prints and paintings. Princess Alice felt Berea College should have this unique collection.
-Constantine Botimer, Class of 2019