C. 40,000 BCE
Paleolithic Cave Art
Unknown
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Powerful works of art drawn by prehistoric humans
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“Paleolithic cave art is a form of art dating back at least 40,000 years and distributed over a vast geographical area, from Europe, to India, to the Americans. Most of the paintings, such as those found in the cave of Lascaux in France, depict large equine animals: horses, cows, aurochs, and deer, as well as outlines of human hands. Curiously, full depictions of humans are absent in European cave art, but prevalent in African cave art.
The caves themselves tend to be in places that are not easily accessible.
There are many theories about the origin of cave art.
Henri Breuil (1877-1961) theorized that, given the number of large animals depicted in the artworks it was likely an instance of “hunting magic” intended to increase the number of wild game hunted by early humans and
“Seeing [the paintings] was startlingly intense . . . there was much . . . I hadn’t expected.”
Gregory Curtis, The Cave Painters (2006)
Neanderthals. Another theory identifies cave art with early shamanistic rituals, perhaps, in some locations, involving the use of hallucinogenic substances. And some researchers have suggested that art may even have been an early form of animation.
Cave art seems to have emerged at the same time as modern Homo sapiens. However, we must not be too quick to attribute its existence to this development.
Evidence suggests that at least some of the cave art in Europe was produced by Neanderthals. The art is a powerful visual link to our prehistory. And, as noted by Pablo Picasso, it tells us something about the art and culture.
It is the art that humans produced when there were no traditions or rules of representation to tell them how art and culture must be produced.” (APT)
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⬆️The paintings in the Lascaux caves in France are estimated to be 16,000 years old.
WEB GALLERY OF VISUAL ART 