Kapitel 1

Prähistorische Kunst in Europa

Outline of Prehistoric Period

• Paleolithic– Lower– Middle – Upper

• Neolithic

Paleolithic Age• “Old Stone Age” - 2,500,000 – 10,000 BC

– Technological advancement from spear to bow/arrow = better hunting

• Appearance of Homo sapiens sapiens (-120,000)• Cro-Magnon Man

– Europe– Stone Ax = chop down trees & make boats– Hunting large animals required 4-5 “bands” of people

working together• Chief status for leader

– Cave Paintings

Der homo sapiens sapiens

Schutzbau oder Architektur?

Fundstätte einer Mammut-Knochen-Hütte

Aus der Ukraineca. 16 000-10 000 v. Chr.

Wohnstätten der Eiszeitjäger

Werkzeug oder Kunsthandwerk?

Der Löwen-Mensch von

Hohlenstein-Stadel, Deutschlandca. 30,000-26,000 v.Chr.Aus einem Mammutzahn geschnitzt11 3/8 inch. hoch

Prähistorische Skulpturen• Älteste menschliche

Kunstwerke: aus Stein,Elfenbein, Geweih, Knochen

• Kultobjekt ? Löwenartiger Mensch als MotivTeil einer Jagdwaffe ?

• geschnitzt und in dreidimensionaler Darstellung:

also schon geistig hochstehende Gedanken-Kultur.

Weibliche Figuren (Venus)

Venus von WillendorfOesterreichca. 28 000-25 000 v.Chr.limestone4 1/4 inch. hoch

“Venus” von WillendorfDie meisten spätneolithischen

Figuren sind Frauen-Darstellungen

Sie sind meist rötlich gefärbt

Grundgestalt : enorme Brüste, dickbauchig & stilsierter runder Kopf

Kultfigur ? Fruchtbarkeitssysmbol ?

Bedeutung ist unklar

Frau von Lespugue

Aus einer Höhle in Les Rideaux, Franceca. 20,000 v. Chr.Mammut-Elfenbein5 3/4 inch hoch

Weitere weibliche Schönheiten

Verschiedene Venus-Statuetten aus der Urzeit

Moderne Formen der Uebertreibungen

Die Bedeutung der Höhlenmalereien

• Die ersten Gemälde entstanden etwa vor 15 000 Jahren

• Ur-Bilder von: Bison, Hirsch, Pferd, Kühen, Mammuts und Wildschweinen sind die Hauptmotive.

• Rituelle oder religiöse Geisteshaltung zur Steigerung des Jagderfolgs oder der Fruchtbarkeit.

Die Bedeutung der Höhlenmalereien

• Archeologists speculate the animal images were meant to guarantee a successful hunt– Drawing a picture of it gave you power over it?– Sympathetic magic

• Artwork has been depicted with realistic features that enables scholars to identify animals

Höhlenmalereien von Chauvet

Vallon-Pont-d’Arc, Ardèche, Franceca. 30 000-28 000 v.Chr.Pigmentfarben aus Fels

Höhlenmalereien aus Pech-Merle

Lot, Franceca. 22 000 v.Chr.Pigmentfarbe auf Stein

Nicht für ewig gemalt?Hände als Fingerprintim modernen Sinne ?

Höhlenmalerein von Lascaux

Lascaux, Dordogne, Franceca. 15 000-13 000 v. Chr.Pigmentfarbe aus Stein

Twisted Perspective – horns, eyes & hooves are shown as seen from the front, yet heads & bodies are rendered in profile

Prehistoric Art Tools•Cave artists used charcoal to outline the walls; sometimes they incised the wall with sharp stones or charcoal sticks•The “paints” used were ground minerals like red & yellow ochre•The minerals were applied directly on the damp limestone walls

Altamira Cave paintings

Santander, Spainca. 12,000-11,000 B.C.E.pigment on stone

Bison Ceiling

Artists used the irregularities of the cave to create sculptural effects by painting over them

Neolithic Revolution• End of Ice Age (100,000 – 8000 BCE)

brought ability to search for new food• Systemic Agriculture – Making the

conscious decision to plant & grow food• Domestication – Raising goats, sheep, pigs

& cattle• Development of permanent, year-round

settlements (and eventually, civilization)

Skara Brae Architecture• Neolithic settlement in

northern Scotland• 3100 and 2600 BCE• Corbeling – layers of

stones are piled on top of each other to form walls without mortar

Megalithic Architecture• “Large stone” (mega + lithos)• Powerful religious or political figures and beliefs was the

impetus for these massive building projects• 2 types:

– Dolmen – large, vertical stones with a covering slab like a giant table (mounded over with dirt to form a cairn)

– Menhir – single stone set on its end• Positioned:

– Henge – circular arrangement of stones– Alignment – in rows

Stonehenge

Salisury Plain, Wiltshire, Englandca. 2,550-1,600 B.C.E.sarsen and bluestone

Stonehenge: England’s First Rock Group

• Series of concentric circles & circular shapes

• Outer circle of 13 foot high gray sandstones, called sarsen stones, topped by a continuous lintel– They weigh up to 26 tons each!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=DewEKz9TzmM

Built it and They Will Come?

How Did They Do That?!• Lacked bronze or iron tools and, possibly, the wheel• Transported the stones by barge or sled

– Heel stone standing upright, weighs 35 tons and was brought in from 23 miles away

• Raising of the stones was done in stages by prying the ends up and inserting timber beneath– Added layer after layer and then removed the

elevated scaffolding

BanksyStonehenge Port-A-PottiesGlastonbury, England2008metal and plastic

Jim ReindersCarhengeAlliance, Nebraska1987metal

Could Coral Castle Provide an Answer?

Menhir alignments at Ménec,

Carnac, Franceca. 4,250-3,750 B.C.E.

various MenhirsIreland, Scotland, England, France

DolmensIreland, Scotland, England, France

Essential Questions• What is prehistory? • What are the problems and challenges of

making meaning of prehistoric art?• How is prehistoric art useful in

understanding the human condition?