HistArt 101 Ch. 1 - Quiz Review

Title: Wounded Bison Location/Culture: Altamira, Spain (Prehistoric) Medium: cave wall Time: ca 15,000-10,000 BCE Point of interest: These were discovered by a nine year-old girl and were the first prehistoric cave paintings to be discovered. The scientific community initially had a very hard time accepting their validity.

Title: Rhinoceros, Wounded Man, and BisonLocation/Culture: Lascaux CaveDordogne, France (Prehistoric)Medium: cave wallTime: ca 15,000-13,000 BCEPoint of significance: Possibly the earliest art narrative.

Title: Spotted Horses and Human HandsLocation/Culture: Pech-Merle CaveDordogne, France (Prehistoric)Medium: LimestoneTime: Horses ca 16,000 BCEHands 15,000 BCEPoint of significance: Showcases various techniques of cave painting. The hands were likely done with spit painting. Gouge marks on the wall indicate that in some cases spears were cast at the images.

Title: Hybrid figure with a human body and a feline head (sometimes called Lion Man)Location/Culture: Hohlenstein-Stadel, GermanyMedium: Mammoth ivoryTime: ca. 30,000 BCEHeight 11.5"Point of significance: Creating this took a lot of work (since all they had to use were rudimentary tools). May have been a shaman or "sorcerer" who could contact the spirit world through ritualistic behavior.

Title: Hall of the BullsLocation/Culture: Lascaux CaveDordogne, France (Prehistoric)Medium: cave wallTime: ca. 15,000-13,000 BCEPoint of significance: The space that this was painted in and the path that the viewer would have to travel down must be considered here, a very specific type of experience is intended.

Title: Two BisonLocation/Culture: Le Tuc d'Audoubert CaveAriege, France (Prehistoric)Medium: ClayTime: ca. 13,000 BCEPoint of significance: A sculptor used clay to build up a natural outcropping of rock into two bison. Each figure is about two feet long. Notice that they are in fairly strict profile (and in this way share characteristics with the cave paintings). Function of the object is unclear.

Title: Woman from BrassempouyLocation/Culture: Grotte du Pape,Brassempouy, France (Prehistoric)Medium: IvoryTime: ca. 22,000 BCEPoint of significance: It is highly abstract. No mouth and only the suggestion of a nose. The quiet power and energy of the figure reside in the dramatic way its meticulously polished surface responds to shifting light, suggesting movement and life.