Berea College Art Collection

Tondo or “round” relief casting developed as an independent art form in Florence in the first half of the 15th century. Beginning in the 1420’s, the della Robbia family began working in terra cotta sculpture. The family specialized in images of the Virgin and Child for private devotion, often reproducing them by casting. The Robbia [...]

Rookwood Pottery is recognisable for its dark palette and eastern influences as seen here.With the creative freedom Rookwood encouraged, artist Matthew Daly drew inspiration from East Asian culture. After nearly 200 years of seclusion, Japan opened its borders to foreign influences in 1853. In reaction, Europe and America were suddenly filled with Japanese art and [...]

Rembrandt is known for creating nearly one hundred self-portraits. He frequently, minorly altered his appearance in his self-portraits. His facial hair, dress, or expression varies widely throughout the studies. These small changes, for Rembrandt, helped him to increase his self-understanding. Here, he depicts himself at a window drawing at his desk. The shading of etching [...]

The Life of the Virgin represents the apex of the German artist Albrecht Dürer’s career. Originally published as a book, the print shown here is a part of a collection of twenty that depict the life of the virgin.  Dürer completed this series of prints after a tour of Italy, where he was influenced by [...]

This monochrome woodblock print depicts a man prostrate with angels alongside him. Above the man and angels, there is a chariot driven by God. Hiroshi, or Yo, Iwashita was born in 1917, but beyond that little is known about the artist. His woodblock prints are considered highly popular and continue in the long Japanese tradition [...]

Alexander Calder designed a series of fourteen wall hangings in 1973 as a part of a 1972 Nicaraguan earthquake relief project. Calder’s designs were produced by more than one hundred master weavers from Nicaragua and Guatemala. The weavers worked with natural braided sisal, a fiber made from native agave plants. The pieces were not woven, [...]

Thomas Moran’s 1899 oil painting captures a brilliant Western landscape, including a Native American cliff village. Originally referred to as the Grand Canyon, the piece was considered to be a glimpse into the uncharted West; later research placed the scene in Mesa Verde, CO, presumably depicting Anasazi dwellings. The Cliff Dwellers was one of many [...]

Maurice Prendergast is considered to be a leading American Post-Impressionist. He is known for his urban landscapes and figures engaged in leisure activities, such as visiting parks and beaches. His training began in Boston before he moved to Paris where he spent three years, and studied at the Académie Julian. After completing school, Prendergast found [...]

This beautiful photo album is comprised of photos taken before 1890, some of which were taken by photographer Felice Beato in Japan. Beato spent more than 20 years in Japan, and through his photos he provided a rare visual record of a Japan that was restricted to foreign travelers. Filled with hand tinted photographs of [...]

A Florentine painter, known only as the Master of San Martino alla Palma, produced this painting in the mid-fourteenth century. The Flagellation depicts the whipping of Christ by Roman soldiers before his crucifixion. Many Christians practiced self-flagellation, or Mortification of the Flesh, during the era of this painting. Today, it is primarily monastics who practice [...]