The Earliest Art: Old Stone Age ArtThe 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 clayRight: 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