Human civilization has come a long way of development and has achieved impressive results. Contemporary art is one of them. But everything has its beginning. How did painting originate and who were they - the first artists of the world?
The beginning of prehistoric art - types and forms
In the Stone Age, the Paleolithic, primitive art first appears. It took different forms. These were rituals, music, dances and songs, as well as drawing images on various surfaces - rock art of primitive people. This period also includes the creation of the first man-made structures - megaliths, dolmens and menhirs, the purpose of which is still unknown. 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 doubts about the time of the birth of primitive art. It began to form in the middle of the Paleolithic era, during the periodexistence of late Neanderthals. The culture of that time is called Mousterian.
Neanderthals knew how to process stone, creating tools. On some items, scientists found depressions and notches in the form of crosses, forming a primitive ornament. At that time they could not paint yet, but ocher was already in use. Pieces of it were found to be worn off, like a pencil that had been used.
Primal rock art - definition
This is one of the types of primitive art. It is an image painted on the surface of the cave wall by an ancient man. Most of these objects were found in Europe, but there are drawings of ancient people in Asia. The main area of distribution of rock art is the territory of modern Spain and France.
Scientists' doubts
For a long time, modern science was not aware that the art of primitive man had reached such a high level. Drawings in the caves of ancient people were not found until the 19th century. Therefore, when they were first discovered, they were mistaken for falsification.
The story of one discovery
Ancient rock art was found by amateur archaeologist Spanish lawyer Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola.
This discovery is connected with dramatic events. In the Spanish province of Cantabria in 1868, a hunter discovered a cave. The entrance to it was littered with fragments of crumbling rock. In 1875 it was examined by de Sautuola. That timehe found only tools. The find was the most common. Four years later, an amateur archaeologist again visited the Altamira cave. On the trip, he was accompanied by a 9-year-old daughter, who discovered the drawings. Together with his friend, the archaeologist Juan Vilanova y Piera, de Sautuola began excavating the cave. Shortly before that, at an exhibition of Stone Age objects, he saw images of bison, surprisingly reminiscent of the cave drawing of an ancient man that his daughter Maria saw. Sautuola suggested that the images of animals found in the Altamira cave belong to the Paleolithic. In this he was supported by Vilanov-i-Pierre.
Scientists have published shocking results of 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 from the Paleolithic period. Marcelino de Sautuola was accused that the drawings of ancient people, allegedly found by him, were drawn by a friend of the archaeologist who visited him in those days.
Only 15 years later, after the death of the man who discovered to the world beautiful examples of ancient people's painting, his opponents recognized the correctness of Marcelino de Sautuola. By that time, similar drawings in the caves of ancient people were found in Font-de-Gaumes, Trois-Frères, Combarel and Rouffignac in France, Tuc d'Auduber 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 significant discoveries in archeology, was restored.
Skill of ancient artists
The rock art, the photo of which is presented below, consists of many images of different animals. Among them figurines of bison predominate. Those who first saw the drawings of ancient people found in the cave of Altamira are amazed at how professionally they are made. This magnificent craftsmanship of ancient artists made scientists doubt their authenticity in due time.
Ancient people did not immediately learn how to create accurate images of animals. Drawings have been found in which the contours are barely outlined, so it is almost impossible to know who the artist wanted to portray. Gradually, the drawing skill 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.
The hand smeared with paint was applied to the wall, the resulting print was outlined in a different color along the contour and enclosed in a circle. According to researchers, this action had an important ritual significance for ancient man.
Themes of painting by the first artists
The rock drawing of an ancient man reflected the reality that surrounded him. He displayed what worried him the most. In the Paleolithic, the main occupation and method of obtaining food was hunting. Therefore, animals are the main motif of the drawings of that period. As already mentioned, in Europe, images of bison, deer,horses, goats, bears. They are not transmitted statically, but in motion. Animals run, jump, frolic and die, pierced by a hunter's spear.
The largest ancient image of a bull is located in the Lascaux cave, located on the territory of France. 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.
Purpose of rock paintings
Why did the ancient man depict animals and people on the walls of caves and other objects, it is not known exactly. Since by that time religion had already begun to form, most likely they had a deep ritual significance. Drawing "Hunting" of ancient people, according to some researchers, symbolized the successful outcome of the fight against the beast. Others believe that they were created by the shamans of the tribe, who went into a trance and tried to gain special power through the image. Ancient artists lived a long time ago, and therefore the motives for creating their drawings are unknown to modern scientists.
Paints and tools
To create drawings, primitive artists used a special technique. First, they scratched the image of an animal on the surface of a rock or stone with a chisel, and then applied paint to it. It was made from natural materials - ocher of different colors and black pigment, which was extracted from charcoal. For fixationpaints used animal organics (blood, fat, brain matter) and water. There were few colors at the disposal of ancient artists: yellow, red, black, brown.
Drawings of ancient people had several features. Sometimes they overlapped 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, the vast majority of their drawings are 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 also took care of lighting their "canvases". Lamps were found that were made in the form of stone bowls. 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 oldest. Laboratory studies helped determine the age of the drawings - the very first of them were made 36 thousand years ago. Images of animals that lived during the Ice Age were found here. This is a woolly rhinoceros, cave lion, bison, panther, tarpan (the ancestor of the modern horse). The drawings are perfectly preserved due to the fact that millennia ago the entrance to the cave was filled up.
Now it is closed to the public. The microclimate in whichimages, may disturb the presence of a person. Only its researchers can spend several hours in it. To visit the audience, it was decided to open a replica of the cave not far from it.
Lascaux Cave
This is another famous place where drawings of ancient people are found. The cave was discovered by four teenagers in 1940. Her collection of paintings by ancient Paleolithic artists now includes 1,900 images.
The place has become very popular with visitors. The huge flow of tourists led to damage to the drawings. This happened due to an excess of carbon dioxide exhaled by people. In 1963 it was decided to close the cave to the public. But problems with the preservation of ancient images exist to this day. The microclimate of Lascaux has been irreversibly disturbed, and now the drawings are under constant control.
Conclusion
Drawings of ancient people delight us with their realism and craftsmanship. 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, the painting of primitive artists is an important material for the study of the animal world of that period. Thanks to the drawings found in the Chauvet grotto, scientists have 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.
