Painters In Prehistory

The story of ancient canyon dwellers along the Lower Pecos and their culture

In late nineteenth-century France, when Charles Darwin’s theories of evolution had finally begun to permeate French culture and society, several academic artists turned to a relatively new sub-genre of history painting, the prehistoric-themed subject. This artistic interest in Darwin’s theories was manifested as paintings and sculptures of prehistoric humanity engaged in physical conflict with each other or other animals, struggling for food, or hunting—all nineteenth-century popular understandings of “survival of the fittest.” This book examines how this sub-genre captured the imagination of French Salon painters from the 1880s to early 1900s, in particular that of Fernand Cormon (1845–1924), one of the foremost academic painters during the final quarter of the nineteenth century. A central argument of this book concerns the unique interpretation of prehistoric humanity that Cormon visualized in his paintings. While the vast majority of prehistoric-themed images made by his salon colleagues focused on violence, combat, and sexual conquest, Cormon’s paintings depict a conflict-free humanity, in which collaboration and cooperation dominate, rather than physical struggle. This study probes the French intellectual understanding and appropriation of Darwin’s theories and considers how the French (mis)translation of The Origin of Species by Clémence-Auguste Royer, the first French translator of the text—along with Neo-Lamarckism and republican ideology in Third Republic France—may have collectively shaped Cormon’s representation of early humanity. The art press overwhelmingly favored Cormon’s visualization of the prehistoric world over that of his Salon peers. Through extended analysis of the art criticism concerning Cormon’s work, Shalon Parker argues that critics’ very clear preference for Cormon’s paintings was rooted in their awareness that he utilized the sub-genre of the prehistoric as a forum in which to reimagine and revive academic figurative painting at a time when the critical reception of Salon art had reached its nadir. Additionally, this study provides a broad overview of the visual models, in particular the anthropological and ethnographic texts and imagery, most readily available to Cormon as sources for shaping his vision of the prehistoric world.

Drawing on the most up-to-the-minute research on prehistoric art, an anthropologist presents a global survey, starting with the first explosion of imagery that occurred approximately 40,000 years ago but also including the creations of essentially "prehistoric" peoples living as recently as the early 20th century. 226 illustrations.

Presents the history of paleoart from 1830-1990. These are not cave paintings produced thousands of years ago, but modern visions of prehistory: stunning paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures, mosaics, and murals that mingle scientific fact with unbridled fantasy

Discusses advances in society, technology, and art in the prehistoric world, including the invention of tools, early neolithic homes, and the emergence of prehistoric art and antiquities.

Prehistoric Rock Paintings Of Bhimbetka By Dr. Yashodhar Mathpal Is The First Exhaustive Study Of A Single Rock Art Site In India. It Covers The Entire Art Activity In The Form Of Paintings Found In 133 Caves At Bhimbetka, Central India, The Largest Concentration Of Rock Paintings In The Country. For The First Time Copies Of Prehistoric Cave Paintings Have Been Made On The Spot, In Original Colour, To Scale And With Original Background. All The Superimpositions Of Figures Have Been Copied. For The First Time Indian Rock Paintings Are Dated 10,000 Years Back On The Firm Ground Of The Archaeological Findings From The Excavations Of Painted Caves. For The First Time Indian Rock Paintings Have Been Studied In Their Historical Perspective. For Example, The First Discovery Of Rock Paintings Was Made In India 12 Years Before Their Discovery Of Altamira In Spain. India Is Also The First Country To Recognize The Antiquity Of Rock Paintings. For The First Time Too The Maximum Literary, Ethnologic And Archaeological Evidences Have Been Researched For Evidence Of Drawing Material, Motivation And The Antiquity Of Rock Paintings. In His Foreword To This Monumental Work Professor H.D. Sankalia Says: This Work Is Unique Because For The First Time Prehistoric Indian Paintings Are Evaluated By A Scholar Who Is Artist By Nature And Training And A Trained Prehistorian, And Thus Eminently Qualified To Write On The Subject.

Examines the art of prehistoric times, including painting, reliefs, sculpture, and pottery that has been found in Africa, the Pacific, and the Americas.

Mentions rock paintings of Australia p. 36; includes images of a wallaby and stencilled hands - Modum, Walcott Inlet, N. W. Australia pl. no. 52; Kaluru the 'Lightning Man' - Kalurungari, Calder River District, N. W. Australia pl. no. 53; Wond'ina painting - Kobudda, Walcott Inlet, N. W. Australia pl. no. 54; Woman suckling a baby - Anumeri, King Edward River, N. W. Australia pl. no. 55; a goanna with eggs - Ungarinyin tribe, Walcott Inlet, N. W. Australia pl. no. 56.