The aim of this article is to assist readers in appreciating the fascinating Aboriginal cave painting styles found in Australia. Rock art or cave painting
By Charles Kessler The other day, I saw Werner Herzog’s new 3-D movie about the Chauvet cave paintings — Cave of Forgotten Dreams (now playing at IFC in New York). The Times reviewer doesn’t agree, but I thought it was a terrible movie: the 3-D effects will give you a headache (especially scenes shot in the cramped spaces of the cave), the music is an obnoxious distraction, there are too many irrelevant, sometimes silly, interruptions, and the movie is self-indulgent and heavy-handed — typical Herzog Germanic romanticism. BUT SEE IT! It’s well worth putting up with Herzog’s nonsense just for the opportunity to see the Chauvet cave paintings. Due to the fragile nature of the cave and artifacts, custody of the cave was taken over by the French Government (the official government website for the cave is here), and it has been closed to all but a few experts since its discovery in 1994 by the French speleologist Jean-Marie Chauvet and his colleagues Eliette Brunel Deschamps and Christian Hillaire. Herzog persuaded the French government to give him, and a crew of three, access to the cave to film for four days on the condition he worked under careful supervision. These paintings might be the oldest art ever discovered, possibly an incredible 32,000 years-old - twice as old as the next oldest, the Lascaux caves. But, the thing that’s so remarkable about this work, and other prehistoric cave painting, is it’s as good as any art that’s ever been made. In other words, art hasn’t improved in 32,000 years; it's just changed. Four aurochs (left), two rhinoceroses fighting (below) and a panel of four horses (extreme right) [Credit: Wikimedia Commons] - click to enlarge. The skill of these artists is astonishing. In many cases a single line delineates contours of the animals — and with anatomical accuracy too. Other times the animals are carefully modeled. Not only are the animals realistically drawn with great economy of means, but they're also compellingly expressive. The eyes of the animals are tense and alert, and their bodies are dynamic and powerful. Detail of lions hunting panel. [Credit: Wikimedia Commons] These artists were even able to portray motion. Several animals are depicted with multiple pairs of legs, as if their legs were rapidly moving (like the Futurist Giacomo Balla's Dynamism of a Dog On a Leash, 1912), or are shown in multiple places in time (like Duchamp’s Nude Descending a Staircase, 1912) — effects probably heightened by flickering light. And the means they used to create the paintings were varied and sophisticated. They carefully prepared the walls so they were smooth and white, they incised the wall along contour lines to emphasize the line, and they made use of the curve of the wall to aid in the illusion of volume. There are no signs that prehistoric man lived in the Chauvet Cave; it was used exclusively for ceremonial purposes. And what a dramatic ceremonial space it must have been! Can you imagine what it must have been like to enter into this strange and dangerous cavern, an open space with tons of rock miraculously suspended above? Originally (before a rock slide sealed the cave about 20,000 years ago) they would have entered through a sort of outside antechamber that had red hand prints on the far wall. Then, going into the cave proper, with only torches for light, they would dimly see drawings of bears and panthers as their eyes adjusted to the dark. Further in they would come to two chambers with vast herds of bison, rhinos, horses and other animals -- more than 400 paintings in all! It must have been awe-inspiring — it still is, even just watching it on film. This is clearly not the work of amateurs -- this isn't random scrawls or indiscriminate graffiti. It is clearly the work of highly trained specialists. (We can even identify one of the artists because his hand prints have a crooked finger). It’s pretty impressive when you think of it. This subsistence culture, as marginal as their existence was, must have believed that making art was so important that they would excuse certain people from hunting and other jobs and provide for them so they could devote their time to making art (or at least what we today call art). Charles Kessler is an artist and writer, and lives in Jersey City.
Kimberley Rock Art is a fascinating sequence of artistic expressions left by Australian Aboriginal people over the last 40,000 years.
Australia rock painting
The aim of this article is to assist readers in appreciating the fascinating Aboriginal cave painting styles found in Australia. Rock art or cave painting
In a new paper, researchers hypothesize that the location of cave art and sounds early humans heard might be linked
Rock art in the southern part of Libya goes through several phases, the earliest depicting people is the Roundhead style. The Roundhead style dates from about 9,000 BP to to time of the Neolithic a…
Explore nrssmith's 8425 photos on Flickr!
MICHAEL MCFADDEN PHOTOGRAPHY SITE HOME: http://www.ojaiphoto.com Contact [email protected] for special orders. CHECK OUT THE LOW COST DIGITAL DOWNLOAD PRICES FOR PERSONAL USE BY CLICKING THE "BUY" BUTTON!!! Add your COMMENTS below!
Arnhem Land Rock Art is unlike that anywhere on earth. It is the artistically most exciting Rock Art because it is full of spirits and figure
Kimberley Rock Art is a fascinating sequence of artistic expressions left by Australian Aboriginal people over the last 40,000 years.
A furniture maker hit upon the meaning of the markings and teamed up with academics to decipher them.
CANTABRIA, SPAIN—An archaeological team from the University of Cambridge announced Wednesday the discovery of cave paintings in northern Spain that suggest prehistoric humans battled a variety of inner demons, nagging fears, and insecurities that plagued them as they struggled with life’s demands in the Paleolithic…
"Roll and Draw - Stone Age Art - Cave Painting" - Learning about art history has never been more fun with this engaging and interactive lesson on cave art. Introduce your students to the fascinating world of prehistoric art with this low-prep, easy-to-follow activity. This lesson includes a roll-and-draw chart, instructional video link, and step-by-step instructions that can be printed or projected on the wall. All you need is soft pastels, brown packaging paper, and fixative spray (oil pastels or colored pencils on normal paper can also be used). With this activity, your students will learn about Stone Age art and cave paintings while creating their artworks. They'll use the roll-and-draw chart to determine the elements of their painting and follow the step-by-step instructions to create a beautiful, unique piece of art. This lesson is perfect for introducing students to ancient civilizations and art history. It's also a great way to encourage creativity and imagination in the classroom. Don't miss out on this opportunity to engage your students with this fun and educational art worksheet! Check out the preview video! You may be interested in: ⭐ Roll and Draw! - Ancient Greek Vases ⭐ Roll and Draw! - Classical Temples - Greek and Roman architecture ⭐ Roll and Draw! - Gothic Rose Window ⭐ Roll and Draw! - Totem Poles ⭐ Roll and Draw! - Ancient Egyptian Garden ⭐ Roll and Draw! - Ancient Egypt
A paper hypothesizes that some of our language skills evolved out of specific cave art features.
The pre-eminence of the Franco-Cantabrian cave art has in some respects overshadowed the appreciation of the many other rock art traditions of Europe. In France, for instance, the extensive corpus of Fontainebleau receives scant attention, simply because it is of the Holocene rather than the Late
Arnhem Land Rock Art I think is the artistically most exciting rock art because it is full of spirits and figures. These figurative depictions reflect some of the world’s earliest spiritual beliefs.…
Arnhem Land Rock Art is unlike that anywhere on earth. It is the artistically most exciting Rock Art because it is full of spirits and figure
The most spectacular examples of Paleolithic art can be found in the painted caves of France and Spain. Amongst the most famous are Lascaux, Altamira, Pech Merle, Niaux, and Vallon-Pont-d’Ar…
Stone Age cave painting began at about the same time in Southeast Asia as in Europe, challenging the idea that Western Europeans cornered the market on creativity 40,000 years ago.
If you’ve followed my trip reports on this website over the years at all, you’ve probably noticed that searching for and photographing rock art (pictographs and petroglyphs) is a pretty…
A paper hypothesizes that some of our language skills evolved out of specific cave art features.
Ancient Rock Carvings Qaqotorq, Greenland
Learn about the intriguing history of the color red, from vermilion and carmine to Matisse's favorite cadmium red.
Modern painters have been influenced by the Altamira cave paintings. After a visit, Pablo Picasso exclaimed "after Altamira, all is decadence". - Dopo Altamira, tutto è decadenza, esclamò Pablo Picasso, 1881-1973, incantato dinanzi allo spettacolo delle pitture rupestri nella grotta spagnola di Altamira. Molti pittori sono stati influenzati dalle opere delle grotte di Altamira.
The first humans arrived in the Colombian Amazon around 13,000 years ago.
There is an amazing variety of Native American Rock Art in the Moab, Utah area – some of it is really fascinating. You could spend an entire visit just checking out rock art locations. I’m trying to use my down time in Vegas to caption and edit images – it is cheaper then the alternative activities. 🙂
