This document provides an overview of early paintings from prehistoric times through ancient Egypt. It discusses some of the earliest known paintings found in cave paintings dating back 15,000-10,000 BC depicting large animals. These early paintings were used to communicate and may have had religious or ceremonial purposes. The document also highlights several examples of prehistoric portable art objects found across Europe and Asia dating back as far as 500,000 years ago, including engraved shells, figurines like the Venus of Willendorf, and cave paintings found in France.

1. Western Classical
Art Traditions on
Paintings
GRADE 9- ARTS
QUARTER 1

4. Paintings from the Early Age:
Pre-Historic and Ancient Egypt
Paintings is one of the oldest art forms.
When societies began crafting tools and
making fire, they were also learning to
represent the world in pictures. These
pictures were recorded in cave paintings
that still exist today.

5. PAINTINGS FROM THE PRE-HISTORIC
(Image from Treasures of the World, 1961 CCP Library Cave of
Lascaux, 15000-10000 B.C. – Stone Age)

6. Even before humans learned to read
and write they were already artists as
manifested by the different
archeological discoveries from the
different parts of the world. Each and
every civilization of the world has its
distinct art forms depending on its
aesthetic and utilitarian needs.

8. Prehistoric includes all human
existence before the emergence of
writing. Their art is of interest not
only to the art historians but also to
archeologist and anthropologist, for
whom the art is only one clue – along
with fossils, pollens, and other finds
to an understanding of early human
life and culture.

10. Their paintings were found
inside the caves which may
have been their way of
communicating with each
other. It may also be for
religious or ceremonial
purposes.

12. These paintings may be more on
artifact of the archeological evidence
than true picture of human’s first
created art.
Pre historic drawings of animals were
usually correct in proportion. The
dominant features in the painting were
large animals native in the region.

14. Inthehistoryof art, prehistoricartisallartproducedin
preliterate, pre-historical culturesbeginning
somewhere invery late geologicalhistory, andgenerally
continuinguntilthatcultureeither develops writingor
other methods ofrecord-keeping, ormakessignificant
contactwithanother culturethathas,andthatmakes
some recordof majorhistoricalevents. Atthis
pointancientartbegins,fortheolder literate cultures.
Theend-date forwhatiscovered bytheterm thusvaries
greatly between different partsof the world

15. Prehistoric painting of Rhinoceroses in
inthe Chauvet Cave, France,dated circa35,000 BP
It is clear that such workmanship
existed by 40,000 years ago in
the Upper Paleolithic Era,
although it is quite possible that
itbeganearlier.
The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper
Paleolithic) is the third and last
subdivision of the Paleolithic or
Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it
dates to between 50,000 and
12,000 yearsago

16. EngravedshellscreatedbyHomoerectus
datingasfarbackas500,000yearsagohave
beenfound,althoughexpertsdisagreeon
whethertheseengravingscanbeproperly
classifiedas'art'. FromtheUpperPaleolithic
throughtotheMesolithic,cavepaintingsand
portableartsuchasfigurinesandbeads
predominated,withdecorativefigured
workingsalsoseenonsomeutilitarian
objects.

17. TheVenusofBrassempouy
(French:laDamede
Brassempouy,meaning"Ladyof
Brassempouy",orDameàla
Capuche,"LadywiththeHood")is
afragmentaryivoryfigurinefrom
theUpperPaleolithic,apparently
brokenfromalargerfigureat
sometimeunknown. Itwas
discoveredinacaveat
Brassempouy,Francein1892.
About 25,000yearsold,itisoneof
theearliestknownrealistic
representationsofahumanface.

18. The Venus of Brekhat Ram, have been
claimed as the earliest representations of
the human form The object, including its
"arms" and "legs", was created by
natural geological processes. The
horizontal grooves on both sides of the
object seem to be formed partly naturally
partly artificially (by percussion). The
object also contains traces of pigment,
which seems to
be iron and manganese according to
preliminary study.
VenusofTan-Tan"
(replica),Museum ofHuman
Evolution,Burgos, Spain.

19. cavelion drawings
fromChauvetCaveinSouthern
FrancefromtheAurignacian
period(c.35,000to30,000
yearsold)
The art of the Upper
Paleolithic representsthe
oldestform ofpre-historic art.
Figurative Art ispresent
inEuropeand SoutheastAsia,
beginning betweenabout40,000to
35,000yearsago. Non-figurative
CavePaintings,consisting ofhand
stencilsandsimplegeometric
shapes,aresomewhatolder,at
least40,000yearsold,and
possiblyasoldas64,000years.

20. Portable art (sometimes called Mobiliary Art) refers to the
small examples of Prehistoric Art that could be carried from place
to place, which is especially characteristic of the Art of the upper
Paleolithic and Mesolithic Eras, Often made of ivory, bone, antlers
orstone
The Venus of Willendorf is an 11.1-centimetre-tall (4.4 in) Venus
Figurine estimated to have been made around 25,000-30,000
years ago. It was found on August 7, 1908, by a workman named
JohannVeran[ orJosefVeram duringexcavations

21. "Venusfigurines",duetothewidely-
heldbeliefthatdepictionsof nude
womenwithexaggeratedsexual
featuresrepresentedanearly
fertilitydeity,perhapsaMother
Goddess.
Venusismetaphorical,sincethe
figurinespredatethemythological
figureofVenusbymanythousandsof
years.Somescholarsrejectthis
terminology,insteadreferringtothe
statuetteasthe"Womanof" or
"WomanfromWillendorf.
Venus of Willendorf