08 February 2011

History of Decorative Arts

This is such a fascinating class and I really enjoy my instructor.  We began at the beginning :) the other day and learned about Prehistory art and design.  Beautiful!
These are images from the Lascaux cave discovered in 1940 by four teens and a pet dog.  It was opened to the public in 1948 but the carbon dioxide from some 1200 visitors a day visibly damaged the paintings.  Lascaux II, a replica of two of the cave halls — the Great Hall of the Bulls and the Painted Gallery — was opened in 1983, 200 meters from the original.  Reproductions of other Lascaux artwork can be seen at the Centre of Prehistoric Art at Le Thot, France.
 We discussed Stonehenge as well, which I had the opportunity to visit in the late '80s~it is an amazing site.
Woman of Willendorf is a very interesting early sculpture symbolizing the importance of women for the future of mankind.
She is only 4 3/8 inches and resides at a museum in Vienna.

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