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Showing posts with the label archaeology

Art History: Stonehenge

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Although not necessarily created as a piece of art, Stonehenge could be considered early architecture, which is a branch of art. I have not been to the real Stonehenge, but there is a replica of a complete Stonehenge that I have been to in Maryhill,Washington, near the Columbia River. It's very interesting. What exactly is Stonehenge, you ask? There are a few theories, including being a perpetual calendar, a site for rituals, or perhaps worship of the sun or astrology. In the Middle Ages, it was believed that it was created by Merlin the Magician, or was created by giants. Stonehenge is believed to have been built about 4,500 years ago, in the Neolithic age, which means new stone age. It can be found in Wiltshire, England, and is open to the public to visit. It is a masterpiece of engineering, and using simple tools, and must have taken much time and effort, unless they had some giants or large animals handy to help with the work. Stonehenge is a group of stones placed ...

Art History: The Lascaux Cave Paintings

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The Caves at Lascaux in southwestern France, are famous the world over for the paintings on their walls. These are some of the earliest paintings found, and are dated around 15,000-17,000 BC, and were discovered by a group of teenagers in 1940. Like the Chauvet Cave Paintings, the Caves at Lascaux were protected for thousands of years by a landslide which sealed off all access. The caves were open to the public in 1948.By 1955, some of the cave's art began to deteriorate due to all the visitors and the change in the cave's climate. Lichens and crystals and fungus appeared, which were not present before. As a result, the caves were closed in 1963, with access granted only to a few scientists. Still today, only a few scientists are permitted, and the scientific community is working to preserve and restore the paintings. In 1983, an exact replica of the Great Hall of the Bulls and the Painted Gallery, created under Monique Peytral, was opened a short distance from t...

Art History: Venus of Willendorf

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 I used to joke that I had the shape of a fertility goddess. Sometimes people would understand and laugh, sometimes people would give me a funny look and scratch their head in confusion. They had no idea what I meant. If you are one who doesn't know what this means, that's okay; let me introduce you to the Venus of Willendorf, a very early piece of art. The Venus of Willendorf is a small nude sculpture of a very ample woman with exaggerated sexuality. She is 4.4” high and made of limestone. She was discovered in 1908 during an archaeological dig near Willendorf, Austria, and now resides at the Naturohistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria. This statue is believed to be one of the earliest pieces of art, and one of the earliest nude women in art. Scientists date her at 28,000 BC to 25,000 BC, during the Paleolithic, or Old Stone Age, through a study of the stratigraphic sequence of the area. The oolitic limestone used for her carving is not local to the area w...