What roles did primitive drawings play in style. Primitive Art: How Man Became Man - Images

He did not realize himself as a man, but at the same time, he indicates that his consciousness was occupied with all other images - images of hunting. The animalistic theme in the painting of primitive hunters is quite natural. The practical significance of the object found emotional consolidation in the art and mythology of totemism, which explains the origin of the people of this tribe by birth (or transformation) from a beast.

The materials of fine arts allow us to assume that the first impulse to comprehend the truly human in oneself arises as an awareness of female nature, intuitively felt in relation to the female parent.

Paleolithic Venuses

The first images of a person are the so-called Paleolithic "Venuses", created in the period of the XXV-XVIII millennium BC. Clay figurines found in many areas of Europe (Czechoslovakia, Italy, France), the Far East, Asia - all of them are stylistically very similar to the famous Venus from Willendorf (Lower Austria). Art critics noted the exaggerated signs of sex characteristic of the sculpture (large breasts, bulky belly, possibly indicating pregnancy, heavy wide hips). The absence of individual features (identity of proportions, schematically shown limbs, similarity in the image of hairstyles, untreated faces, sometimes the head is only outlined) indicates that maternal qualities, generalized features of a woman in her child-producing function, were emphasized in these images. female body perceived as the source of life. Emphasized maternal features of Paleolithic Venuses are a magical guarantee of procreation. In addition, for the first time, human features are clearly and naturally reproduced in these small figurines. In the phylogenetic process of self-knowledge, in contrast to the zoomorphic hypostasis, a person perceives himself for the first time precisely in a female form.

The image of a life-giving woman in primitive art is associated with a pattern of ideas about fertility not only in the human world, but also about the reproduction of animals, about successful hunting and calendar reproduction of life cycles. The episodic appearance of male characters in Paleolithic painting is included in the same thematic cycle: seasonal fertility in the natural world, the cycle of life and death. Constant heroes of art male characters become only by the era of the middle stone (VIII-V millennium BC).

In Mesolithic compositions, there is a constant pattern that determines the general style of images:

• As a rule, these are very dynamic hunting scenes. Note that the female Paleolithic images symbolize some ideas, but do not reproduce any plot. The emphasized dynamics of moving figures, the emphasis on the event plane, pushes us to believe that a person is now aware of himself as an active being. In addition, the hero of Mesolithic art has attributes that characterize a meaningful labor activity: bows with arrows, boats, chariots.
• In contrast to the naturalistic images of "Venuses", the figures of the hunters are rendered rather conditionally. The movements are exaggerated, the bodies are disproportionate. Women's images do not disappear in the Mesolithic, but seem to lose their sacred significance. They appear in everyday scenes associated with the extraction of food: rock art from Tassilin-Ajer and Fezzan in the African Sahara depicts women collecting honey, women with cows near the huts. Their figures are also conditional and disproportionate, the characters are depicted in action. Gender differences are not significant.
• Images of animals retain the realistic style of the Paleolithic. The schematism of anthropomorphic images in contrast with realistic profile images of animals persists not only in the Neolithic era. Similar features can be observed in the art of the emerging civilizations of Egypt and Crete. Stylistic originality can be explained by dominant semantic images of consciousness. The realism and detail of the image of animals indicates a special close attention to the object of the hunt.

The different style in the depiction of the animal (realism) and man (conventionality) may be an indication that the anthropos of the Middle Stone era singled himself out from the natural world and opposed it. He realized that he was different, he overcame his zoo-morphism as something inherent to him from the very beginning. material from the site

The tendency to schematize the image of a person is observed in ancient art up to the birth of the styles of great civilizations. This process, perhaps, reflects a characteristic pattern: the more cultural objects a person surrounds himself with, the less the need to depict his physical appearance. This assumption is confirmed by numerous images of the Bronze Age: petroglyphs of Central and Central Asia, Altai, Karelia, depicting a man on a chariot, resemble ornamental pattern, in which the eye does not immediately detect the plot. This may mean that a person defines himself not through physical qualities and external properties, but through the objects and attributes of activity, culture created and produced by him.

The conventionality and schematism of the images also testify to the fact that a person in the ancient era is a generic, collective being. In the visual arts of the beginning of civilizations everywhere we are faced with a very generalized image of man. Suffice it to recall the geometrized figures in the paintings of ceramic vessels in Homeric Greece, pre-dynastic Egypt, etc. The growth of realistic tendencies is observed only with the strengthening of individual manifestations in

Details Category: Fine arts and architecture of ancient peoples Posted on 12/16/2015 18:48 Views: 3524

primitive art developed in primitive society. Primitive society is the period in the history of mankind before the invention of writing.

Primitive society since the 19th century. also called prehistoric. But since writing appeared in different peoples V different time, the term "prehistoric" is either not applied to many cultures, or its meaning and temporal boundaries do not coincide with humanity as a whole.
Primitive society is divided into the following periods:
Paleolithic(Old Stone Age) - 2.4 million-10,000 BC. e. The Paleolithic is divided into early, middle and late.
Mesolithic(Middle Stone Age) - 10,000-5000 BC. e.
Neolithic(New Stone Age) - 5000-2000 BC. e.
Bronze Age- 3500-800 BC e.
iron age- from about 800 BC. e.

Fine art of the Paleolithic

In this period art was represented by geoglyphs (images on the surface of the earth), dendroglyphs (images on the bark of trees) and images on the skins of animals.

Geoglyphs

Geoglyph - a geometric or figured pattern applied to the ground, usually over 4 meters long. Many geoglyphs are so large that they can only be seen from the air. The most famous geoglyphs are in South America- on the Nazca plateau, in the southern part of Peru. On the plateau, stretching for more than 50 km from north to south and 5-7 km from west to east, there are about 30 drawings (a bird, a monkey, a spider, flowers, etc.); also about 13 thousand lines and stripes and about 700 geometric figures (primarily triangles and trapezoids, as well as about a hundred spirals).

Monkey
The drawings were discovered in 1939, when the American archaeologist Paul Kosok flew over the plateau in an airplane. A great contribution to the study of mysterious lines belongs to the German doctor of archeology Maria Reich, who began work on their study in 1941. But she was able to photograph the drawings from the air only in 1947.

Spider
The Nazca lines have not yet been solved, many questions remain: who created them, when, why and how. Many geoglyphs cannot be seen from the ground, so it is assumed that with the help of such patterns, the ancient inhabitants of the valley communicated with the deity. In addition to the ritual, the astronomical significance of these lines is not excluded.

Analogues of Nazca

Palpa plateau on the south coast of Peru

The Palpa complex is more diverse both in terms of the complexity of images and their number, and in terms of the variety of monuments. Palpa is covered with low hills with rugged slopes that turn into mountain ranges. The hills with drawings have almost perfectly even tops, as if they were specially leveled before the images were applied to them. On the Palpa plateau there are unique drawings, which have no analogues in Nazca. This geometric figures, which clearly carry information encoded in mathematical form.

Giant from the Atacama Desert

Giant from the Atacama Desert - a large anthropomorphic geoglyph, the largest prehistoric anthropomorphic drawing in the world, 86 m long. The age of the drawing is estimated at 9000 years.
This image is located 1370 km from the geoglyphs of the Nazca Desert, on the lonely mountain Cerro Unica in the Atacama Desert (Chile). The image is difficult to identify. This geoglyph can only be fully seen from an airplane. The creators of this image are unknown.

Uffington white horse

A highly stylized chalk figure 110 meters long, created by filling deep trenches with broken chalk on the slope of the 261-meter limestone White Horse Hill near the town of Uffington in the English county of Oxfordshire. It is under state protection as the only English geoglyph of prehistoric origin. The creation of the figure is attributed to the early Bronze Age (approximately the 10th century BC).
Large drawings also exist in Russia: "Moose" in the Urals, as well as giant images in the Altai.

rock painting

Many rock carvings from the Paleolithic era have survived to our times, mainly in caves. Most of them are found in Europe as well as in other parts of the world. The oldest known rock art is, apparently, the scene of the battle of rhinos in the Chauvet cave, its age is about 32 thousand years.

Image on the wall of the Chauvet cave
The rock carvings are dominated by images of animals, hunting scenes, figures of people and scenes of ritual or daily activities (dances).
All primitive painting was supposedly created in accordance with cults. Many examples of cave paintings are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

primitive sculpture

Paleolithic Venus

This name is a generalization for many prehistoric figurines of women dating from the Upper Paleolithic. Figurines are found mainly in Europe, but they are also found far to the east (Malta site in the Irkutsk region).

Venus of Willendorf
These figurines are carved from bones, tusks and soft rocks. There are also figurines sculpted from clay and fired - one of ancient examples known science ceramics. TO beginning of XXI V. more than a hundred "Venuses" are known, most of which are relatively small in size: from 4 to 25 cm in height.

Megalithic architecture

Megaliths (Greek μέγας - large, λίθος - stone) are prehistoric structures made of large blocks.
Megaliths are common throughout the world, most often in coastal areas. In Europe, they mainly date from the Bronze Age (3-2 thousand BC). There are Neolithic megaliths in England. On the Mediterranean coast of Spain, in Portugal, part of France, on the west coast of England, in Ireland, Denmark, on the south coast of Sweden and in Israel, there are also megaliths. It was widely believed that all megaliths belonged to the same global megalithic culture, but modern research refutes this assumption.
The purpose of the megaliths is not entirely clear. According to some scientists, they served for burials. Other scholars believe that this is an example of communal structures, which required the unification of large masses of people. Some megalithic structures were used to determine the time of astronomical events: the solstices and equinoxes. A megalithic structure was found in the Nubian desert, which served for astronomical purposes. This building is 1000 years older than Stonehenge, which is also considered a kind of prehistoric observatory.

Stonehenge is a megalithic structure in Wiltshire, England. It is a complex of ring and horseshoe-shaped earthen (chalk) and stone structures. It is located about 130 km from London. This is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world.
There is still no consensus on the appointment of Stonehenge. At various times, it was considered either a sanctuary of the Druids, or an ancient observatory, or a territory for burial.

Composite dolmen from the Zhane river valley (15 km from Gelendzhik)
Many dolmens are known in Krasnodar Territory. Dolmens - megalithic tombs of the first half of the III-second half of the II millennium BC. e., related to the dolmen culture of the Middle Bronze Age. Distributed from the Taman Peninsula and further in mountainous areas Krasnodar Territory and Adygea. In the southern part they reach the city of Ochamchira in Abkhazia, and in the north - to the valley of the Laba River. Dolmens were used in the Late Bronze Age and later. In total, about 3000 dolmens are known. Of these, no more than 6% have been studied.
It's sad that these archaeological sites destroyed and not preserved. In addition, people far from science create a near-dolmen boom around such objects. Burial grounds become a place of constant pilgrimage and even a place of residence for an exalted and inadequate public. The media fill the conjectures of various "researchers".

The discovery of an ancient rock painting in a cave in Gibraltar, which scientists believe was made by Neanderthals about 39,000 years ago, has become a real sensation in the scientific world. If the discovery turns out to be true, then history will have to be rewritten, because it turns out that the Neanderthals were not at all primitively stupid savages, as is commonly believed today. In our review, there are a dozen unique rock paintings that were found at different times and made a splash in the world of science.

1. Rock of the white shaman

This 4,000-year-old ancient rock art is located in the lower reaches of the Pecoe River in Texas. The giant image (3.5 m) shows the central figure surrounded by other people performing some rituals. It is assumed that the figure of a shaman is depicted in the center, and the picture itself depicts the cult of some forgotten ancient religion.

2. Kakadu Park

Kakadu National Park is one of the most beautiful places for tourists in Australia. He is especially valued by his rich cultural heritage- The park has an impressive collection of local Aboriginal art. Some of the rock paintings at Kakadu (which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site) are nearly 20,000 years old.

3. Chauvet Cave

Another UNESCO World Heritage Site is located in the south of France. More than 1000 can be found in Chauvet Cave various images, most of them are animals and anthropomorphic figures. These are some of the oldest images known to man: their age dates back to 30,000 - 32,000 years. About 20,000 years ago, the cave was filled with stones and it has been preserved in excellent condition to this day.

4. Cueva de El Castillo

In Spain, the "Cave Cave" or Cueva de El Castillo was recently discovered, on the walls of which they found the oldest rock paintings in Europe, their age is 4,000 years older than all the rock paintings that were previously found in the Old World. Most images show handprints and simple geometric shapes, although there are also images of strange animals. One of the drawings, a simple red disk, was made 40,800 years ago. It is assumed that these paintings were made by Neanderthals.

5. Laas Gaal

One of the oldest and best preserved rock paintings in African continent can be found in Somalia, in the Laas Gaal (Camel Well) cave complex. Despite the fact that they are "only" 5,000 to 12,000 years old, these rock paintings are perfectly preserved. They depict mainly animals and people in ceremonial robes and various decorations. Unfortunately this wonderful cultural object cannot receive World Heritage status because it is located in an area where there is constant war.

6. Bhimbetka rock dwellings

rock dwellings in Bhimbetka represent some of the earliest traces of human life on the Indian subcontinent. In natural rock shelters, there are paintings on the walls that are about 30,000 years old. These paintings represent the period of development of civilization from the Mesolithic to the end of prehistoric times. The drawings depict animals and people in daily activities such as hunting, religious ceremonies and, interestingly, dancing.

7. Magura

In Bolgari, the rock paintings found in the Magura cave are not very old - they are between 4,000 and 8,000 years old. They are interesting with the material that was used for drawing images - guano (litter) of a bat. In addition, the cave itself was formed millions of years ago and other archaeological artifacts have been found in it, such as the bones of extinct animals (for example, a cave bear).

8. Cueva de las Manos

The "Cave of Hands" in Argentina is famous for its extensive collection of prints and images of human hands. This rock painting dates back to 9,000 - 13,000 years. The cave itself (more precisely, the cave system) was used by ancient people as early as 1,500 years ago. Also in Cueva de las Manos you can find various geometric figures and images of hunting.

9. Altamira Cave

Paintings Found in Altamira Cave in Spain Considered a Masterpiece ancient culture. Stone painting era Upper Paleolithic(14,000 - 20,000 years old) is in exceptional condition. As in the Chauvet cave, a collapse sealed the entrance to this cave about 13,000 years ago, so the images remained in their original form. In fact, these drawings are so well preserved that when they were first discovered in the 19th century, scientists thought they were fake. It took a long time until technology made it possible to confirm the authenticity of the rock art. Since then, the cave has proved so popular with tourists that it had to be closed in the late 1970s as large amounts of carbon dioxide from the breath of visitors began to destroy the painting.

10. Lascaux Cave

This is by far the most famous and most significant collection of rock art in the world. Some of the most beautiful 17,000 year old paintings in the world can be found in this cave system in France. They are very complex, very carefully made and at the same time perfectly preserved. Unfortunately, the cave was closed over 50 years ago due to the fact that under the influence of carbon dioxide exhaled by visitors, unique images began to collapse. In 1983, a reproduction of a part of the cave called Lasko 2 was discovered.

Of great interest are and. They will be of interest not only to professional historians and art critics, but also to everyone who is interested in history.

For most works of primitive art, conventionality, generalization of forms, symbolic character, and conventional pictorial language are characteristic. Expression, a sense of plasticity, rhythm are pronounced. There is a sense of symmetry, correctness in the ratio of volumes. One of the features of primitive art is the peculiar uniformity of its forms wherever it existed (the similarity in details of the Paleolithic "Venuses"; the similarity of plots, compositions, and the style of Neolithic rock carvings).

The most important feature of primitive art - syncretism, was expressed both in the fusion of the functions of art with other areas of culture, and in the richness of semantic interpretations of the same subject. Actually, the artistic principle in our understanding was absent in it. In primitive times, there were no objects that had the goal of aesthetic pleasure, which did not exclude their decorative effect.

Archaic art served as an instrument of knowledge: fixing the image, it made it accessible to perception, research. Through grouping objects, emphasizing details, art revealed the meaning, the essence of the object.

The first examples of primitive art are handprints on the walls of caves, which, apparently, were magic sign authorities. Probably, figures of animals painted on the walls of caves, molded from clay, engraved on bone and stone also served magical purposes. Along with hunting magic, a fertility cult with erotic magic also developed. Hence the stylized image feminine in the form of an almond shape or a triangle, characteristic of primitive art.

In Paleolithic art combine both naturalistic and schematic drawings: impressions of a human hand and chaotic wavy lines, parallel strokes that cover naturalistic images female figures. In the figures, the extreme conventionality of the arms, legs and face, the elaboration and hypertrophy of the abdomen, hips, chest (paleolithic "Venuses"). The object prevails, its materiality, weight, color, volume, texture. There are also cave drawings. The first objects of the image in them were animals, which were drawn in profile at about life size. People were often depicted frontally in slightly increased proportions. Although human images in the very early period rare. The image of the figures was contour, carved with a stone tool or applied with red ocher. Inside, the contour was completely empty. Already in the Ormniac period (30 thousand years ago), there were attempts at spatial representation: the hooves and horns of animals are drawn in front or three-quarters. In the late Paleolithic, the size of animals and humans increase or decrease. For example, the image of a man (“Great Martian God”), found in the Sahara, has a length of 6 meters. The contours are filled in (the eyes, nostrils of animals are drawn, the coloring of their skins, for people - clothes, tattoos).

In Mesolithic art the individual takes center stage. Even images of animals can take on an anthropomorphic character at this stage. It is not the object that prevails, but the action, the movement. Hence the ever-increasing stylization and schematism human figures, the predominance of multi-figured compositions. Occasionally, you can find images of people whose faces are drawn in profile, and the chest and shoulders - frontally.

In the Neolithic there is more and more stylization and symbolization. In the late Neolithic, signs in the form of circles, crosses, swastikas, spirals, crescents were widespread, there are stylized images of animals and people, ornamental motifs (ribbon and spiral).

In the art of the Bronze and Iron Ages, both the stadial and ethnic principles are already clearly distinguished, which determine the specifics of art schools.

Thus, the evolution of the primitive art is coming first along the path of detailing, polychromy, striving for three-dimensionality, and then returning to schematism, stylization and symbolization. At the same time, objectivity and static are replaced by action and movement. The development of primitive art is also associated with overcoming the disorder of images and the creation of compositions.

Primitiveness seems to us today the distant past of mankind. And the remains of archaic tribes are perceived as museum exotics. However, traces of primitiveness continued to exist throughout the history of mankind, organically woven into the culture of subsequent eras. At all times, people continued to believe in signs, the evil eye, the number 13, prophetic dreams, fortune-telling on cards and other superstitions that are an echo primitive culture. Developed religions have preserved a magical attitude towards the world in their cults (belief in the miraculous power of relics, healing with holy water, the sacrament of unction and communion in Christianity). Folklore kept echoes of magic and myth in songs and fairy tales. Art culture constantly used myths for her plots and images. In the XX century. the influence of myth on literature is manifested in the complication of symbolism, gravitation towards the parable, semantic layering literary texts(B. Pasternak, A. Platonov, O. Mandelstam, F. Kafka, G. Marquez, T. Mann). The ideas of primitive people are also reflected in modern linguistic phraseological units. Eg, mythological image“robber wolf” led to the emergence of the phraseological unit “wolf grip”. Binding as a magical action is reproduced in the expressions “untie the tongue”, “bind hand and foot”. Mirror as a magical symbol of the boundary between the earthly and other world gave rise to phraseological units “like looking into the water”, “like in a mirror”. There is a large group of phraseological units, the correct understanding of which requires knowledge of the myth: "Sisyphean labor", "Ariadne's thread", "Heraclitus' fire", "Cain's seal".

It is safe to say that the basic structures of the primitive worldview live in the depths of the psyche of each modern man and under certain circumstances break out. Crisis state of society; phenomena that science cannot explain and deadly diseases that it cannot cure; unpredictable, dangerous, but significant situations for a person - this is the foundation on which old myths and superstitions are reborn and new ones grow.

Human civilization has come a long way of development and achieved impressive results. Modern Art- 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 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 existence of the late Neanderthals. The culture of that time is called Mousterian.

Neanderthals knew how to process stone, creating tools. On some objects, 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 worn off, like a pencil that was used.

Primitive rock art - definition

This is one of the species. 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.

Doubts of scientists

For a long time modern science was not aware that the art primitive man reached such high level. Drawings in the caves were not found until the 19th century. Therefore, when they were first discovered, they were mistaken for falsification.

History of one discovery

Ancient rock art was found by an amateur archaeologist, Spanish lawyer Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola.

This discovery is related to 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. At that time, he 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 this, at an exhibition of objects of the Stone Age, he saw images of bison, surprisingly reminiscent of that rock art an ancient man who was seen by his daughter Maria. Sautuola suggested that the images of animals found in the Altamira cave belong to the Paleolithic. In this he was supported by Vilanoff-i-Pierre.

Scientists have published the shocking results of their excavations. And then they were accused scientific world in falsification. Leading experts in the field of archeology categorically rejected the possibility of finding paintings from the Paleolithic period. Marcelino de Sautuola was accused of the fact that the drawings of ancient people, allegedly found by him, were drawn by a friend of the archaeologist, who was visiting him in those days.

Only 15 years later, already after the death of the man who revealed to the world beautiful examples of the painting of ancient people, 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.

Mastery 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 area are amazed at how professionally they are made. This magnificent craftsmanship of ancient artists made scientists doubt their authenticity at one time.

Ancient people did not immediately learn how to create accurate images of animals. Drawings have been found that barely outline the contours, so it is almost impossible to know who the artist wanted to portray. Gradually, the skill of drawing became better and better, and it was already possible to quite 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 the researchers, this action had an important ritual significance for the 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 were found in many. They are not transmitted statically, but in motion. Animals run, jump, frolic and die, pierced by a hunter's spear.

Located in France, there is the largest ancient image 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 the rock paintings

Why the ancient man depicted animals and people on the walls of caves and other objects is not exactly known. 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 very long time, 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 different colors and black pigment, which was extracted from charcoal. Animal organics (blood, fat, medulla) and water were used to fix the paint. 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 shapes foreground 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 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 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 glacial period. This is a woolly rhinoceros, 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 which the images are located can 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. Now her collection of paintings by ancient artists of the Paleolithic era has 1900 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 Lasko was irreversibly disturbed, and now the drawings are under constant control.

Conclusion

The 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, 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 drawings, scientists made an amazing discovery: it turned out that lions and rhinos, the original inhabitants of hot southern countries, in the era of the Stone Age lived in Europe.