Prehistoric Art

Page 1: Prehistoric Art

Overview

• Prehistoric art refers to artifacts made before written records.

• Humans create art for various reasons, using available technologies.

• The Paleolithic era is marked by the earliest forms of art, with significant developments in the Neolithic era, which laid the groundwork for modern society.

Types of Stone Age Art

1. Petroglyphs: Includes cupules, rock carvings, and engravings.

2. Pictographs: Composed of pictorial imagery, ideograms, and symbols, such as cave paintings.

3. Sculpture: Features small statuettes (Venus Figurines), zoomorphic carvings, and relief sculptures.

4. Megalithic Art: Involves arrangements of stones or petroforms.

   • Parietal Art: Applied to immovable rock surfaces.

   • Mobiliary Art: Portable artworks.

Characteristics

• Earliest forms of art are primitive, e.g. cupules are simple hemispherical markings.

• Venuses of Tan-Tan and Berekhat Ram show crude humanoid representations, causing debate over their classification as art.

• Upper Paleolithic (from approx. 40,000 BCE) led to recognizable carvings and pictures, exemplified by:

  • El Castillo cave paintings

  • Chauvet cave murals

  • Lion Man of Hohlenstein-Stadel

  • Venus of Hohle Fels

  • Artworks from Swabian Jura and Aboriginal rock art.

• Later cultures like Gravettian and Magdalenian produced sophisticated art forms including:

  • Dappled Horses of Pech-Merle

  • Cave paintings at Lascaux and Altamira.

Page 2: Paleolithic Period (c. 2,500,000 - 10,000 BCE)

Subsections of the Paleolithic Era

• Lower Paleolithic: Initial human cultures focusing on basic tool development and survival.

• Middle Paleolithic: Further advances in tools alongside hunting/gathering.

• Upper Paleolithic: Significant advancements in art and tool technology.

Evolution of Human Culture

• Humans relied on hunting and gathering before agriculture led to sedentary life.

• Innovations in stone tools indicate progress in human ingenuity and survival techniques.

Early Art Examples

• First recorded examples of art are petroglyphs in central India (Bhimbetka caves), dating from at least 290,000 BCE.

• Venus figurines (Venus of Berekhat Ram and Venus of Tan-Tan) date between 200,000 and 500,000 BCE, significant as early representations of humanity.

Mesolithic Culture (c. 10,000 - 4,000 BCE)

• Transitional period affected by the retreating ice influencing lifestyle shifts from hunting-gathering to early agriculture.

• Variable durations of Mesolithic periods reflected regional environmental changes.

• Mesolithic rock art displays increased representation of human figures and narrative depth due to changing hunting practices.

Page 3: Neolithic Culture (c. 4,000 - 2,000 BCE)

Fundamental Changes

• Shift from nomadic lifestyles to settled agricultural societies marked this period.

• Characterized by the use of polished stone tools and domestication of animals and crops.

• Development of crafts like pottery and weaving coincided with farming practices.

Spread of Neolithic Culture

• Spread from southern Asia (c. 9,000 BCE) to China, the Middle East, India, Europe, and the Americas.

• Establishment of villages and increased trade led to social growth, new organization forms, and population surges, rising from 5-8 million to 65 million by 4,000 BCE.

Neolithic Art Characteristics

• As communities became more settled, different art forms emerged emphasizing ornamentation and decoration.

• Jade carving, lacquerware, and pottery represent the artistic developments during the Neolithic era.

Page 4: Classical Art

Overview

• Classical Art encapsulates cultures of Greece and Rome, focusing on beauty, harmony, and proportion.

• Addressed human experiences and interactions with the divine.

Ideals of Beauty and Proportion

• The idealized human form became central, influenced by the golden ratio.

• Greater realism in anatomical depictions aimed for emotional and psychological expression.

Architectural Developments

• Greek temples evolved from simple to complex designs, influencing future governmental and educational buildings.

Historical Context

• The work of early art historians like Johann Winkelmann, who studied Greek art primarily through Roman copies, laid foundations for art history.

• The misconception of Greek sculptures as purely white marble was corrected in the 20th century with the discovery of polychromatic practices.

Preserved Sculptures

• Bronze was commonly used for sculptures, leading to few remaining originals as bronze was often melted down.

Page 5: Medieval Art

Introduction

• Characterized by Pietistic painting, religious themes dominated in illuminated manuscripts and frescoes.

• No portrait paintings; colors tended to be muted.

Byzantine Art

• Emerged during the Eastern Roman Empire, characterized by a flat, one-dimensional style lacking perspective and realism.

• Focused on religious iconography and developed distinctly different from Western art during the Middle Ages.

Key Features of Byzantine Style

• Flatness and front-facing figures.

• Solemn aesthetics without realism; muted color palettes.

Page 6: Romanesque Art

Characteristics

• Evolved from Byzantine influences, emerging in Western Europe.

• Close alignment with Catholic Church traditions, marked by:

  • Production of Pietistic art forms such as illuminated manuscripts.

  • Use of stained glass in churches.

Artistic Elements

• Varied proportions indicating the significance of figures.

• Vibrant decor in manuscripts compared to otherwise muted colors in other art forms.

• Included large stone sculptures, small carvings, and murals reflecting religious themes.

Page 7: Gothic Art

Development

• Followed the Romanesque period, spanning from the 12th to 14th centuries.

• Focused on realism and breaking away from previous artistic constraints.

Innovations in Gothic Art

• Introduction of:

  • Brighter colors and realism in human form depiction.

  • Techniques of perspective and proportion.

  • Use of shadows and light to create depth.

• Subject matter diversified to include animals and mythological scenes.