Compare and Contrast the Cave Paintings
Compare and contrast the cave paintings to one (or more) of the later works of art. How are the cave drawings and other pieces of art reflective of the human need to express ourselves artistically?
How do you express yourself artistically?
HELPFUL HINTS:
To COMPARE two items means to tell us how they are the same. To CONTRAST two items means to tell us how they are different.
Later works of art could be any ONE specific painting of your choice. For example, if you like Van Gogh’s Starry Night, you could use that one to compare and contrast. Or keep it closer to the same period of time and pick an image from the textbook later on in the chapter, like Sack of the City of Hamanu or Tribute Bearers Bringing Offerings. More than physical comparisons, the paper should point out the meanings, or reasons why the art was created in the first place. What are the two pieces telling us, what stories do they tell? Are the purposes behind each artwork the same or different? It is far easier to write a paper comparing and contrasting two specific art works than trying to group all cave paintings as one category, and all later paintings as a second category.
The two cave paintings in your textbook are:
Hall of the Bulls, Lascaux, Dorgogne France ca. 15,000-10,000 BCE
Herd Crossing River, Valtorta Gorge, Levant Spain ca. 8,000-3,000 BCE
You can use either of these as one of the pieces to compare and contrast, but if you want to explore other prehistoric cave paintings and use a different piece, you are allowed to do so. If you use a cave painting not from the textbook, then please insert a copy of the image you are using in your paper, and give its title, location and age.
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