Art History 1: Art Before History

No one knows why humans began to paint and carve images or what role those images played in the lives of earlier hunters. Women were far more common subjects than men, but animals, not human, were the major themes in many of the panitings or 3-d works in stone age.





Right: Nude Woman (Venus of Willendorf)
ca 28000-25000 BCE

-it is one of the oldest and famous prehistoric femal figure
-tiny limestone of a woman
-a ball-like shape
-the exageeration of the breasts: celebration of fertility and emphasis of the child-bearing capabilities that ensure the survival of the species
-not aim for naturalism
-not trying to represent a particular person, since the facial features are not shown and covered up by a mass of curly hair

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Hall of the Bulls (in the cave at Lascaux, France, ca. 15000-13000 BCE. Largest bull: 11'6"long

-the hunters in the Stone Age believed they were bringing the beasts under their control.

-dance or rituals might have been performed in front of the cave paintings

-some historians guested these images served as teaching materials for teaching new hunters