Human civilization has come a long way and has achieved impressive results. Contemporary art is one of them. But everything has a beginning. How did painting come about and who were they - the first artists of the world?
The beginning of prehistoric art - types and forms
In the Stone Age, Paleolithic, primitive art first appeared. It had different forms. These were rituals, music, dances and songs, as well as drawing images on a different surface - rock paintings of primitive people. The creation of the first man-made structures — megaliths, dolmens and menhirs — whose purpose is still unknown, also dates to this period. The most famous of them is Stonehenge in Salisbury, consisting of cromlechs (vertical stones).
Household items, such as jewelry, children's toys, also belong to the art of primitive people.
Periodization
Scientists have no doubt about the time of the birth of primitive art. It began to form in the middle of the Paleolithic, during the existence of the late Neanderthals. The culture of that time is called Mousterian.
Neanderthals were able to process stone, creating tools. On some subjects, scientists found recesses and notches in the form of crosses forming a primitive ornament. They could not draw in that era, but ocher was already used. Sewed off pieces of it were found, like the pencil that was used.
Primeval Rock Art - Definition
This is a type of primitive art. It is an image painted by an ancient person on the surface of a cave wall. Most of these objects are found in Europe, but there are drawings of ancient people in Asia. The main distribution area of rock art is the territory of modern Spain and France.
Doubts of scientists
For a long time, modern science was not aware that the art of primitive man reached such a high level. Drawings in the caves of ancient people were not found until the XIX century. Therefore, when they were first discovered, they were mistaken for falsification.
The story of one discovery
Ancient cave painting was found by an amateur archaeologist, Spanish lawyer Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola.
This discovery is associated with dramatic events. In the Spanish province of Cantabria in 1868, a hunter discovered a cave. The entrance to it was littered with debris of crumbling rock. In 1875, it was examined by de Sautuola. At that time, he found only tools. The find was the most common. Four years later, an amateur archaeologist again visited the Altamir cave. On the trip he was accompanied by a 9-year-old daughter, who discovered the drawings. Together with his friend, archaeologist Juan Vilanova i Pierre, de Sautuola engaged in the excavation of the cave. Shortly before this, at an exhibition of objects of the Stone Age, he saw images of bison, surprisingly reminiscent of the cave painting of an ancient man who was seen by his daughter Maria. Sautuola suggested that animal images found in the Altamir cave belong to the Paleolithic. In this he was supported by Vilan-i-Pierre.
Scientists have published shocking results from their excavations. And then they were accused by the scientific world of falsification. Leading experts in the field of archeology categorically rejected the possibility of finding paintings of the Paleolithic time. Marcelino de Sautuola was accused of drawing the ancient people, supposedly found by him, by a friend of the archaeologist who was visiting him in those days.
Only 15 years later, after the death of a man who discovered beautiful examples of paintings by ancient people, his opponents recognized the truth of Marcelino de Sautuola. By that time, similar drawings in the caves of ancient people were found in Font de Gomme, Troyes-Frere, Combarelles and Ruffignac in France, Tyuc d'Oduber in the Pyrenees and other regions. All of them were attributed to the Paleolithic era. Thus, the honest name of the Spanish scientist who made one of the most notable discoveries in archeology was restored.
Mastery of ancient artists
Cave art, the photo of which is presented below, consists of many images of different animals. Among them, bison figures predominate. Those who first saw the drawings of ancient people found in the Altamira cave are amazed at how professionally they are executed. This magnificent mastery of ancient artists made scientists doubt their authenticity.
Ancient people did not immediately learn how to create accurate images of animals. Drawings were found on which the contours were hardly outlined, so it is almost impossible to find out who the artist wanted to portray. Gradually, the skill of drawing became better and better, and it was already possible to accurately convey the appearance of the animal.
The first drawings of ancient people can also include handprints found in many caves.
An inked hand was applied to the wall, the resulting print was encircled in a different color and enclosed in a circle. According to researchers, this action was of great ritual significance for an ancient person.
Themes of painting of the first artists
The cave painting of an ancient man reflected the reality that surrounded him. He displayed what excited him the most. In the Paleolithic, the main occupation and method of obtaining food was hunting. Therefore, animals are the main motive of the drawings of that period. As already mentioned, in Europe were found in a variety of images of bison, deer, horses, goats, bears. They are transmitted not statically, but in motion. Animals run, jump, frolic and die, pierced by a spear of a hunter.
In Lascaux Cave, located in France, is the largest ancient image of a bull. Its size is more than five meters. In other countries, ancient artists also painted those animals that lived next to them. In Somalia, images of giraffes were found, in India, tigers and crocodiles, in the caves of the Sahara there are drawings of ostriches and elephants. In addition to animals, the first artists painted scenes of hunting and people, but very rarely.
The purpose of cave paintings
Why the ancient man portrayed animals and people on the walls of caves and other objects is not known exactly. Since religion had already begun to form by that time, most likely they had a profound ritual significance. The drawing “Hunting” of ancient people, according to some researchers, symbolized the successful outcome of the struggle with the beast. Others believe that they were created by the shamans of the tribe, who went into a trance and tried to get special power through the image. Ancient artists lived a very long time, and therefore the motives of their creation of drawings by modern scientists are unknown.
Paints and tools
To create drawings primitive artists used a special technique. First, they scratched the image of the animal on the surface of a rock or stone with a cutter, and then painted on it. It was made from natural materials - ocher of different colors and black pigment, which was extracted from charcoal. To fix the paint used organics of animals (blood, fat, brain substance) and water. There were few colors at the disposal of ancient artists: yellow, red, black, brown.
The drawings of ancient people had several features. Sometimes they layered on top of each other. Often, artists depicted a large number of animals. In this case, the figures in the foreground were depicted carefully, and the rest - schematically. Primitive people did not create compositions, in the vast majority of their drawings - a chaotic pile of images. To date, only a few "paintings" have been found that have a single composition.
During the Paleolithic period, the first painting tools were already created. These were sticks and primitive brushes made from animal fur. Ancient artists cared about the coverage of their "canvases". Lamps were discovered that were made in the form of stone plates. Fat was poured into them and a wick was placed.
Chauvet Cave
She was found in 1994 in France, and her collection of paintings is recognized as the most ancient. Laboratory studies helped determine the age of the drawings - the very first of them were made 36 thousand years ago. Here were found images of animals that lived in the ice age. This is a woolly rhinoceros, cave lion, bison, panther, tarpan (ancestor of a modern horse). The drawings are perfectly preserved due to the fact that thousands of years ago the entrance to the cave was littered.
Now it is closed to the public. The microclimate in which the images are located can disrupt the human presence. A few hours only her researchers can spend in it. To visit the audience, it was decided to open a replica of the cave near it.
Lascaux Cave
This is another famous place where drawings of ancient people are found. The cave was discovered by four teenagers in 1940. Now her collection of paintings by ancient artists of the Paleolithic era totals 1900 images.
The place has become very popular with visitors. A huge flow of tourists led to damage to the drawings. This was due to an excess of carbon dioxide exhaled by people. In 1963, it was decided to close the cave for visits. But problems with the preservation of ancient images exist to this day. The microclimate of Lasko was irreversibly disturbed, and now the drawings are under constant control.
Conclusion
Drawings of ancient people delight us with their realism and mastery of execution. Artists of that time were able to convey not only the authentic appearance of the animal, but also its movement and habits. In addition to aesthetic and artistic value, painting by primitive artists is an important material for studying the animal world of that period. Thanks to the drawings found in the Chauvet Grotto , scientists made a startling discovery: it turned out that lions and rhinos, the original inhabitants of the hot southern countries, lived in Europe during the Stone Age.