Prehistoric Art
Stella Aghakian
Mrs. Thomas
Art History
10 – 3 – 2013
Prehistoric Art
1. Prehistoric man faced many challenges. For example, they had no means of communication and yet they had to work together to find and kill their own food. When making art, prehistoric man had to make their own paint brushes and create their paint. This makes prehistoric art so impressive because their paintings very accurately capture the proportions and look of the animals they drew. Prehistoric paintings are found in ceilings and high walls of caves which would have required prehistoric man to make some sort of ladder to reach these areas. A last reason the art is so impressive is because they were able to symbolize important aspects of their life in artwork that still survives until today.
2. The images of people in prehistoric art are so unrealistic while animals are well observed because the animals were more important to them. In their lifestyle, animals served as a source of food and kept them alive; humans did not serve as something necessary to stay alive. Some theories formed to explain this are that prehistoric man thought they would find the animal they drew, also known as sympathetic magic. It is also thought that prehistoric man believed a well drawn image of an animal would capture the soul of the animal. An example of the contrast between animal and man is shown in a pictograph depicting a group of men hunting a herd of deer. While the deer are perfectly detailed and proportioned, the hunters are stretched and seem boneless making them look extremely unrealistic.
3. The Venus of Willendorf is a small statue made from limestone in prehistoric times. Certain body parts, such as the breasts, stomach, thighs, and butt, are grotesquely exaggerated. She has no arms and no face. The Venus of Willendorf looks like this because those parts of the body would be necessary for survival in tough times. If they could not find food to hunt then they would need to
Mrs. Thomas
Art History
10 – 3 – 2013
Prehistoric Art
1. Prehistoric man faced many challenges. For example, they had no means of communication and yet they had to work together to find and kill their own food. When making art, prehistoric man had to make their own paint brushes and create their paint. This makes prehistoric art so impressive because their paintings very accurately capture the proportions and look of the animals they drew. Prehistoric paintings are found in ceilings and high walls of caves which would have required prehistoric man to make some sort of ladder to reach these areas. A last reason the art is so impressive is because they were able to symbolize important aspects of their life in artwork that still survives until today.
2. The images of people in prehistoric art are so unrealistic while animals are well observed because the animals were more important to them. In their lifestyle, animals served as a source of food and kept them alive; humans did not serve as something necessary to stay alive. Some theories formed to explain this are that prehistoric man thought they would find the animal they drew, also known as sympathetic magic. It is also thought that prehistoric man believed a well drawn image of an animal would capture the soul of the animal. An example of the contrast between animal and man is shown in a pictograph depicting a group of men hunting a herd of deer. While the deer are perfectly detailed and proportioned, the hunters are stretched and seem boneless making them look extremely unrealistic.
3. The Venus of Willendorf is a small statue made from limestone in prehistoric times. Certain body parts, such as the breasts, stomach, thighs, and butt, are grotesquely exaggerated. She has no arms and no face. The Venus of Willendorf looks like this because those parts of the body would be necessary for survival in tough times. If they could not find food to hunt then they would need to