The Earliest Art: Old Stone Age Art
The Venus of Willendorf
• feminine, statuettes dating to the Upper Paleolithic
Period (45,000-10,000 years ago)
Venus
• the collective term used to identify all obese Paleolithic
statuettes of women.
• Venus, was the Classical goddess of sexual love and
beauty.
Things of note:
• Enlarged sexual characteristics
• She has no facial characteristics
• She is obese
c. 24,000-
22,000 BCE
Oolithic
limestone
43/8 inches high
More Venus..es?
LEFT: Venus of Dolni Vestonice, 29, 000 BCE
clay
Right: Venus of Hohle Fels the oldest Venus,
mammoth tusk
Why should we study this art?
What do you think it says about humanity that art was being created so long ago?
Old Stone Age Art: Cave Painting
Caves at Lascaux
• In what is now Southern France
• Estimated to be 17,300 years old
• The cave contains nearly 2,000 figures, three
main categories: animals, human figures, and
abstract signs.
• Done deep in cave away from living areas
• Believed to relate to the dependence on animals
for food/ hunting
• Hunting with clubs spears, very dangerous
• Found by 2 boys playing with their dog in
1940’s
Lascaux virtual tour
• http://www.lascaux.culture.fr/?lng=en