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Pre-Historic Art. Art Before History. When and Where Did Art Begin?. Paleolithic Art Overview . The Old Stone Age, Paleolithic Art 30,000 – 9,000 BCE Humans invented the concept of recording the world around them in picture around 30,000 BCE - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Pre-Historic ArtArt Before History
When and Where Did Art Begin?
Paleolithic Art Overview The Old Stone Age, Paleolithic Art 30,000 – 9,000 BCE
– Humans invented the concept of recording the world around them in picture around 30,000 BCE
– Paleolithic artworks range from shell necklaces, to human and animal forms carved in ivory, clay and stone, to monumental paintings, and relief sculptures covering the walls of caves
– During this time the human mind went from recognizing human and animal forms to the representation of human and animal forms
– We can observe the artwork and hypothesize about it’s meaning and purpose but because there is no written record from this time period we cannot understand it within it’s historical context. Therefore it remains an enigma
What are the facts? (F)
Artist: UnknownTitle: Venus of Willendorf*Date: 28,000 – 25,000 BCESize: 4 ½”Location / findspot: Willendorf, Austria
What is the medium and technique? (M)
Sculpture carved out ofLimestone.
What is the artworks content / subject matter? (SM)
Depictions of women were far more commonduring the Old Stone Age than depictions of men
How is the subject matter visually represented? (FA)
- Anatomical exaggeration- Simple, Round or bulbous form- No attention given to facial
features
Why was it created? (CA)
- The name is misleading because it has a modern name assigned to it
- The the focus on large breasts and round proportions suggests it might be a fertility statue.
- The lack of facial features indicates that it represents the concept or
form of woman not a specific woman
What are the facts? (F)
Artist: UnknownTitle: Woman Holding Bison HornDate: 25,000 – 20,000 BCESize: 1’ 6”Location / findspot: Laussel, France
What is the medium and technique? (M) Stone relief sculpture
What is the artworks content / subject matter? (SM)
How is the subject matter visually represented? (FA)
- Originally painted red ochre- Bulbous and exaggerated
form- No facial features- Arms draw attention to the bison horn and pubic area
Paleolithic Cave Painting• Africa, France, Spain• Motifs include: Animals, Humans, hand prints
and simple patterns consisting of lines and dots• Differences in style and technique suggests that
different painters added to the walls over time• Animals seen in profile: head, body, tail and all
four legs
What are the facts? (F)Artist: UnknownTitle: Hall of BullsDate: 30,000 – 13,000 BCESize: 1’ 6”Location / findspot: Lascaux, France
What is the medium and technique? (M)
Painting: Red and Yellow Ochre Pigments mixed with minerals.
What is the artworks content / subject matter? (SM)
How is the subject matter visually represented? (FA)
- Multiple styles- Profile = Pictorial definition- Separate images, sense of motion
built over time- No environment- Complete and informative
representations- Horns = twisted perspective- Large Scale
Why was it created? (CA)
- In dark, mysterious place with good acoustics = Rituals?
- Hunting Images? Bulls and horses were not diet staples.
Neolithic Art in Mesopotamia• 9,000 ice melts, climate warms• Birth of Agriculture and organized settlements• Changed from hunters to herders• Themes of ritual, the spiritual world and
portraiture appear in art
What are the facts? (F)
Artist: UnknownTitle: Human skull with restored featuresDate: 7,000 – 6,700 BCESize: Life-sizeLocation / findspot: Jericho
What is the medium and technique? (M)
Plaster covered human skull
What is the artworks content / subject matter? (SM)
Dead Ancestor
Why was it created? (CA)
- They detached their skulls before burial and sculpted the features of their ancestors out of
plaster.
- Ritual: The dead were buried under the floors of their houses. The
sculpture received separate burial
How is the subject matter visually represented? (FA)
- Life-like, Shells for eyes, painted hair and details
What is the Meaning / FUNCTION? (MF)- This was to perhaps honor or worship their
ancestors.- Sacrifice to the powerful dead
Neolithic Architecture in Western Europe
What are the facts? (F)
Artist: UnknownTitle: Stonehenge`Date: 2,550 – 16,000 BCESize: Life-sizeLocation / findspot: Salisbury Plain, England
What is the medium and technique? (M)
Megalithic Sandstone and Volcanic Rock
What is the structures content / subject matter? (SM)
- Non-pictorial. - Content is a henge:
arrangement of megalithic stones arranged in a circle often surrounded by a ditch
Megaliths
Post and LintelLintel
Post
Trilithon
How is the subject matter visually represented? (FA)
Why was it created? (CA)
Theories:- Perhaps originally a funerary site where Neolithic people cremated their dead
- A center for healing that attracted the sick and dying
What is the known meaning / FUNCTION? (FM)- An astronomical observatory and solar calendar
Testament to growing intellectual and scientific capacities during the Neolithic Period and Human Physical Effort
Identify the culture that produced the figure and describe the sculpture's function.
Discuss the characteristics that place the work in its culture.
