Institute of European Art History Collection of the Institute of European Art History

The collection of the Institute of European Art History (IEK) is divided into three sections: an art-historical photo library, image technology devices, and plaster casts

The collection of the Institute of European Art History at Heidelberg University is a teaching and research collection built up since the late 19th century, closely linked to the development of art-historical methods. It brings together three central holdings: the art-historical photo library, image technology devices, and plaster casts.

At its core is the photo library with around 75,000 images of European art from antiquity to the 20th century. Emphases lie on Italy, Germany, and France, as well as on early art-historical documentary photography since the 1850s. The holdings of image technology devices extend from the early 20th century to the early 2000s and document the transformation of image production and image transmission, particularly the establishment of projection-assisted comparative viewing around 1900. The plaster cast collection, whose beginnings date back to 1868, focuses on medieval and early modern sculpture, particularly Florence from the 14th to the 16th centuries and Nuremberg around 1500.