Art- Cave of Forgotten Dreams Essay

The first impressions of the Chauvet Cave seemed uninteresting and looked like an ordinary cave at first. But it turns out that some of the very first human drawings and paintings on Earth were discovered inside this cave. Natural disasters, such as rock slides, caused the entrance of the cave to be blocked off and no one (except for the scientists and film crew) is allowed in. The paintings and drawings inside were placed near the end of the cave; keeping them further away from the daylight. This was meant to preserve the paintings and keep them looking fresh. The ancient artists drew many animals and their methods of life, by showing movements and capturing scenes or events that took place during their times. The illusion of moving images depicts a story or narrative. Some examples of the types of animals they drew were lions, bulls, rhinos, deer, cattle, etc. Depending on how the artists draw the animal’s movements and gestures, tells what kind of scene or story is taking place. Movements such as horns and bodies clashing into each other, or animals with their mouths open, indicate that a brawl or a fight is taking place.
Other ways of how these artists documented their lives and the things around them involved; sculptures/statues and artistic ways of measurement. The ancient artists back at the time did not have proper tools or instruments to measure their height. So instead they came up with other alternate ways by measuring their own height. They would put red paint on their hands and place their hand marks from the bottom of the wall and make their way to the top until they could not reach anymore. This would determine how tall a person was. In the film, the example of the person’s hand marks reached to about 6 feet tall, meaning that the person who made that was about 6 feet tall.
Creating statues and sculptures were also another artistic way of documenting things. The sculptures of animals and humans portrayed their movements and essence as well, by