Chauvet Cave

Name of Reporters: Damasing, Dorato, Guangco, Ilano, Quitiol, Tan, Trazona, Yu English 41 B Group #1 Chauvet Cave Pre-historic humans Basic Information Year / Period it was made or completed: 30,000–32,000 years ago Dimensions: 400 meters in width Medium used: Visual Art, Two-Dimensional Art, Cave Paintings, Charcoal Present location: Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc Cave, 07150 Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, France Interpretation/Analysis The Chauvet Cave is the earliest known and best-preserved figurative cave paintings in the world. It is said that humans used this cave during two distinct periods: the Aurignacian period and the Gravettian period. It is a stone art in which you can see images painted or carved on the walls or stones. It emphasizes the earliest form of art created by humans and serves as proof of human talents and skills. The cave was discovered in 1994. It was preserved due to a landslide that happened a long time ago and as a consequence, the cave was untouched and was never seen. Fossils of some extinct animals were found in this particular cave and even some earliest footprints of human life were left untouched. This is why the cave is very historical and spectacular. It contains a total of 300 paintings and engravings and mostly animals and some other symbolic images are found. There are only two colors used in the paintings, namely, red and black. The most recognizable animals are lions, mammoths, rhinoceroses, horses, and some other rare animals like panthers, a spotted leopard, owls, red deer, musk-oxen, ibex, and bison. Others are unidentified, presumably because of their extinction. Basically, the cave is like a record of animals that early humans saw in their daily lives. But they said that in the paintings carved were images of dangerous animals being hunted during that time. Accordingly, we can say that the cave is also a record of animals that early humans hunted or encountered before. Also, the Chauvet paintings indicate the discovery of human talents and skills in painting and carving. They also indicate some figurative pictures – an abundance of abstract art in the form of geometric symbols like marks that cannot be easily read or understood – and many forms of hand stencils and handprints. The workmanship of the artist/s is excellent. Basic shadings were skillfully used, the figures of the animals are very natural and proportional to the original forms, and some images are painted or carved in detail. The artist also used engraved techniques to emphasize the lines of the body of the animals, which form a 3D effect to the eyes. The materials used are charcoal, mixed floor clay and might even be blood of animals. Scholars believe that the Chauvet Cave’s purpose is still unknown. Most archeologists say that its basic purpose is not habitation; rather it functions as a place for ritual or magical ceremony. That is to say, the images were intended essentially for the spirits that prehistoric humans believe in. For us, the purpose of art in the prehistoric times was not for public display. Insights

The paintings in the Chauvet Cave are considered part and parcel of what we call the prehistoric art. The images in the Chauvet Cave were either carved or painted on the walls of the cave by the early humans. The dominant features of the paintings are figures of lions, mammoth and rhinoceroses. Hence, it can be implied that this cave was used as shelter for the prehistoric people who tried to capture the images of what they saw in their environment by painting or carving them on the walls. In other words, the paintings served as an attempt to recreate scenarios or events, which they saw or which happened throughout their lifetime. The paintings and carvings of animals on the wall reflected their own depiction of animals found in their natural surroundings. Paintings might have been the cavemen’s mode of communication. Paintings might have also helped them to hunt wild animals by visualizing their plan on the wall. Today, people appreciate the Chauvet Cave as an art. References Collins, Neil. "Chauvet Cave Paintings (c.30,000 BCE)." Chauvet Cave Paintings: Earliest Prehistoric Murals: Discovery, Layout. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2015. . Gardner, Helen. Art through the Ages. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1959. Print. Hartt, Frederick. Art: A History of Painting, Sculpture, Architecture. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1989. Print. "Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History." Chauvet Cave (ca. 30,000 B.C.). Ed. Teresa Lai. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2015. .