Ancient and Prehistoric Paintings

Ancient paintings & prehistoric cave paintings. The oldest discovered painted images still in existence can be found in the Chauvet and Cosquer caves in France. Later cave art was also produced at Lascaux, France and Altamira, Spain. All of these paintings were most likely created as superstitious attempts at ensuring a good hunt. The paintings, created nearly 30,000 years ago, primarily depict animals. These still retain an animation that is enhanced by the bold contours of these painted representations. Tens of thousands of years later, Egypt would become the earliest historical culture in the West to produce an important body of painting. The links included herein relate specifically to ancient and prehistoric painting.