Prehistoric Art- Venus of Willendorf Analysis by Lamis Hassim

After finishing off an extremely interesting movie (BBC - How Art Made the World) about prehistoric art (with some scary music), we proceeded to analyze the Venus of Willendorf.  Otherwise known in our class as "the one with the boobs"

Title: Venus of Willendorf, 11cm

Medium:  Limestone 

Artist : Unknown (I personally picture a hipster caveman) 

Date: Circa between 24 000 and 22 000 BC

Elements of Art: (We can now confidently name them in our sleep)

Line: Curved (or "the lady line"), which makes up the detail.

Tone/ volume/ shading: 3D rounded/ bulgy forms which seem to be more prominent in the front than the back

Colour: Monochrome, warm, brown and natural

Shape: Rounded and organic 

Texture: Bumpy in areas which contrasts to the smooth body

Space: Not much except in the belly button (JM: This was the students' suggestion not the teacher's) - sculpture in the round

Principles of Design: (Even Mrs Martin had to open up google for this one- in her defense it was a very tiring day) 

Focal Point: Breasts/ Stomach

Rhythm and Movement: Curves create some movement and sense of flow, the little bumps in the head create rhythm

Harmony: Fairly harmonious- everything is round and curved as opposed to the head.

Proportion: Exaggerated.

What we have realized is that the Venus of Willendorf may represent a pregnant woman due to the fact that we assume cave woman would have had a very active lifestyle (gathering the berries and whatnot) and probably would have had a somewhat more slender figure.

We assume that this sculpture would not be for worship purposes or represent trances as it is rather small, instead we think it was used as a fertility symbol or charm. Cave woman may have wanted lots of kids as many of the kids would have died either in childbirth or as a result of a disease as there were no medications which also meant labour without anesthetic... May God help them. 

So we are proud to present the new vintage accessory. In a cave closest to you.

Terms and conditions apply.

Prehistoric art - Nicola van Loggerenberg

It started with a mark on the wall. A mark on the wall made by a caveman with a knack for interior design.

http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/07/scientists-think-cavemen-painted-while-high-on-hallucinogenic-drugs/

Cave paintings can be found all over the world, but are most common in the European countries like France and Spain. What is intriguing about a lot of the paintings are the advanced shading and colour techniques used (for caveman standard), and sometimes the depictions overall baffle even the most qualified of historians:) 

A lot of the recurring themes seen in the cave paintings are as followed:

- animals look realistic (not stick figures)

- contours of the walls are used to enhance overall painting

- the pictures overlap (could that suggest proportion or depth?)

- Focused mostly on animals (could we assume they did this to tally the animal populace)

Media used:

- mosses

- mat

- hair

- sticks :)

Colors and how they got them:

Brown, red, earthly colors- granulated rock pigments

Red, white- clay

White- bird poo💩

Black -charcoal

Yellow - granulated rock

Analysis

Name of artist: "Grunt"

Name of title: Bison

Date: C15000-12000 BC

Medium: coal, clays, bird poo

Content: bull with big chest and tiny legs

Elements

Line - can be used to define the bison drawing

Shading - defines the different parts of the bison eg, the underbelly

Colour - browns and blacks used to colour the bison

Texture - rock wall has added an element of texture

Shape - the shape of the bison is naturalistic and organic, tends to be bigger in the bust area and smaller in the back.

Space - no deep landscape in the background, not trying to create a sense of depth

BISON

What does every artist have in common? - written by Swetha Maharaj

Elements... What are elements? 

These are things that every artist will use in their art pieces.

The six elements of art are line; shape; colour; texture; tone/form and space....

Lines: Lines can curve

           Lines can be jagged

           Lines can go in different direction

           Lines can also be implied

Different lines make you feel different things. Take the above picture for example, how does it make you feel?

Calm? Relaxed? 

That's because horizontal lines are calming.

-Diagonal lines create movement, they are the action lines

-Vertical lines are rigid

-Curved lines are girly and expressive

-Jagged lines are harsh and aggresive

Shape

Shapes are- geometric/biomorphic or organic

                  - open or closed

                  - 2D

Space

One of the most common ways to create space is perspective

-overlapping

-relative

-atmostpheric

-light

-vertical placement

-linear

Colour

-Primary : red, yellor, blue

-Secondary: purple, orange, green

-Complementary: colours oposite on the colour wheel

-Analogous: neighbouring colours on the colour wheel

Texture

-how something feels

-implied in paintings using different methods to try and make you imagine how it feels

And last, but in no way least (important) is:

Tone/Form

-this is when you become a magician so to speak, this is what you use to make objects on a 2D page look 3D.

So, what is the one thing that all artists have in common, you ask.

The use of these 6 elements of art, to make their piece, for lack of better word, magical.

Grade 10 - Prehistoric art

We start this term off by studying Prehistoric Art. One of the artworks we will analyze is the Venus of Willendorf.

Image credit : http://pictify.com/59968/venus-of-willendorf-paper-doll
You can read more about her here.