In The Cave Painters, Gregory Curtis compares prehistoric cave paintings to Greek Art. Cave Art lasted for about 20,000 years, which is an amazingly long time, when thinking in terms of how long modern society has been around. Ancient Greece was another long (although no where near 20,000 years) period that lasted about 1,300 years. Like I said compared to modern society, that is a long time staying relatively stagnant. As Curtis states in the final chapter, "To last so long that culture must have been deeply satisfying-- emotionally, spiritually, intellectually, and practically" (230). Both societies were content with their lifestyles and the environment around them. When the cave paintings do start disappearing, about 18,000 years ago, the world around these prehistoric peoples was changing with warmer weather and the extinction of those species they had known for so many thousands of years. The end of Ancient Greece was brought upon by the period of Christianization, which can be seen as a changing in the world, too.
"In a way the cave paintings [and engravings] are like the bas-relief sculptures of the Parthenon, which portray a rich unifying mythology and were executed, like the cave paintings, by the hands of anonymous artists." (237)
Curtis goes on to say that the comparison of the Parthenon with cave art is valid because each was working in their own classical tradition, lead by the qualities of dignity, strength, grace, ease, confidence, and clarity. Overall, the goal of this classical tradition is to "imitate nature by creating images of nature's ideal forms" (237). Even the shapes of the animals and people correlate to one another, the bend in a horn compared to the bend in a leg... these show that both societies had an understanding of the basic anatomy of living creatures. One advantage, I found was the fact that the Greeks preserved their cultural legacy, more solidly, with writings and other artifacts that can be studied and picked apart more thoroughly, thus eliminating all the guess work that goes into examining and studying prehistoric art and cultures.
I was really intrigued by this comparison, between Cave Art and Greek Art, Curtis made. Also, the idea of releasing the art from the medium is an interesting thought. Rather that creating a bison out of a rock, but having the bison emerge (as if it was always there) from the rock.
-Holly
Sources:
Curtis, Gregory. The Cave Painters: Probing the Mysteries of the World's First Artists. 2006. Print.
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http://www.faculty.umb.edu/gary_zabel/Courses/Phil%20281/Philosophy%20of%20Magic/Paleolithic%20Art/cave_painting_l.jpg
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