The Cave Paintings at Lascaux
A Detailed Summary
Discovered on September 12, 1940, the cave paintings at Lascaux are generally thought to have been created by the Magdalenian culture at some time between 15,000 and 13,000 B.C.E. at an age that was noted for fine art and tool making. There are other cave sites in France that date back to this era, notably the caves at Les Trois-Freres, Niaux, Altamira, Font-de-Gaume and Les Combarelles. However, Lascaux is larger, and the art is the best preserved. The artist or artists used minerals found in the area of the limestone caves, which were mixed with water after being ground into a powder by stone pestles so they could then be applied to the walls. The black color was created from manganese dioxide or charcoal, the yellow from goethite, white from kaolin and red from hematite or red ochre. The pigments may have been blown through a hollow tube such as a bone or reed, applied with the chewed end of a stick, fur, the artist’s fingers or some combination of all. Considering the depth of the cave system and the location of the art it is not possible that natural light could have been used. This work must have been done by the light of torches or oil lamps. The cave system consists of passageways and several chambers. The art appears in multiple areas throughout the entire system with certain areas having notable artwork. The chambers are called: the Great Hall of the Bulls; the Lateral Passage; the Main Gallery, the Chamber of Engravings; the Chamber of Felines; and the Shaft of the Dead Man. There is no single decorative theme; instead, it is a series with some images over lapping one another. The images were created at intervals, which may have taken place over a number of years or millennia. The white calcite of the walls makes the images stand out sharply, as does their placement on the curves of the cave walls themselves. The images themselves are predominately of animals and abstract images with only one of humans.
The Cave Paintings at Lascaux
Its Significance. and Impact
The art at Lascaux is among the earliest samples of art ever found and notable for its preservation of detail in the depths of the limestone caves that shelter it. It marks a milestone in the development of human kind when anatomically modern humans replaced Neanderthals and became the only hominid inhabitants on continental Europe. The creation of art is directly linked to this development. It is one of the characteristics that set humans from this period as sharply distinct from their earlier ancestors. Art from this period is broken into two broad categories, “mobiliary” art, which are small-sculpted objects, portable and most often found at habitation site and “pariental” art, which are paintings and engravings found in caves on ceilings and along walls. The animal figures are depicted in profile, but with horns turned sideways so that both of the paired horns or antlers are displayed. In this respect, it is clear that these images are more than just replicas but that the artists sought to portray more, to capture spirit as well as form. The images capture the motion and rhythm of the creatures’ movements. No one has been able to ascertain if the images at Lascaux had religious significance, however their effect as art is indisputable. The Axial Gallery is often referred to as the “Sistine Chapel of Prehistory.” Because of mold introduced by people visiting the site and by the installation of a ventilation system the caves are no longer open to the general public. The physical conditions of the caves themselves, their preservation and microbiology form their own field of scientific study as specialists attempt to sort out the best preservation methods taking into account the effects of climate change and the conditions created by their discovery and exploration by modern humans. However, the French Government recreated the cave itself in 3D and there is a virtual tour published on the official French web site for the caves at Lascaux. In this manner, it is possible for these images to be accessible to the world; to excite the imagination and the emotions of thousands even as attempts are ongoing to preserve these artifacts themselves for future generations to wonder at, study and enjoy.
References
Bastian, F., Jurado, V., Novakova, A., Albouvette, C., & Saiz-Jimenez, A. (2011, 12 1). The microbiology of Lascaux Cave. Retrieved 2 19, 2012, from MicroBiology: http://mic.sgmjournals.org/content/156/3/644.full
This scientific study is concerned with the microbiology of the Lascaux Caves and details the effects on the Cave Art
Cornwell, J. A. (1998, 5 25). Lascaux Cave Paintings and Location - Genesis Day Three 17,490 B.C. Retrieved 2 19, 2012, from Mazzoroth: http://www.mazzaroth.com/ChapterOne/LascauxCave.htm
J. A. Cornwell provides indepth detail about some of the images found in the Lascaux caves in his contribution to the accumulated and documentation of the Lascaux Cave Art
Lascaux - Official Site. (n.d.). Lascaux - Official Site. Retrieved 2 19, 2012, from Lascaux - Official Site: http://www.lascaux.culture.fr/index.php?lng=en#/fr/00.xml
The French Government's official site includes this virtual tour of the Lascaux Caves.
Matysek-Snyder, A. (2004). Prehistoric Art or Artifact. Retrieved 2 19, 2012, from Sweet Briar College: http://www.students.sbc.edu/matyseksnyder04/Prehistoric_Art.html
Autum Matysed-Snyder was a Art History Senior at Sweet Briar College when she created this web site to explore the relationship , and the differences between art and artifacts
Tedesco, L. A. (2007, 8). Lascaux (ca. 15,000 B.C.). Retrieved 2 19, 2012, from The Metropolitan Museum of Art: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/lasc/hd_lasc.htm
This is from the Metropolitan Museum's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History and places the Cave Art of Lascaux in the context of other art found from the earliest eras of human art history.
The Bradshaw Foundation. (2011). The Cave Paintings of the Lascaux Cave. Retrieved 2 19, 2012, from The Bradshaw Foundation: http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/lascaux/symposium_results.php
The Bradshsw Foundation Symposium information on the Lascaux Cave Art places it in the context of prehistoric art found in other geographic locations worldwide.
University of Southern Florida. (n.d.). Lascaux. Retrieved 2 19, 2012, from University of Southern Florida: http://myweb.usf.edu/~verdon/lascaux.html
The University of Southern Florida created this informative web site as a resource for information on the Cave art of Lascaux as part of its art history series
White, R. (n.d.). Bataille on Lascaux and the Origins of Art. Retrieved 2 19, 2012, from Creighton University: http://www.janushead.org/11-2/White.pdf
This article by Richard White is a commentary on Bataille’s book Lacaux and attempts to place simultaneously in the context of Bataille’s other works and in relation to other studies regarding the Cave Art of Lascaux.
