History of Modern Art & Graphic

Design
18102210
Graphic Design
 What is Graphic Design?

• Graphic design is an art with a purpose.

• It is a way of communication.

• It is a way to communicate ideas through visuals

• Graphic Design is also called communication design these days.

• It requires a creative and systematic approach, especially using images, symbols or even
types to achieve certain objectives.
 Why understand Graphic Design history?

• To Become a Better Designer

• To build a visual vocabulary

• To Connect Past, Present, and Future

• To understand how design elements have progressed

• To Acquire Good Taste

 Beginning of Graphic Design and Art

• Graphic design started with the advent of communication.

• The oldest form of human communication can be traced back in around 40,000 year old
paintings of ancient caves.

• It seems human beings have always had an intrinsic drive for art, as shown by early cave
paintings from prehistoric times.

• The cave paintings were specifically created to convey a story or message.

• Out of the prehistoric cave paintings Lascaux cave paintings are considered as most
impressive and famous cave paintings in the world.
 Significance of cave paintings

• The cave paintings offer a valuable evidence of our history.

• These cave paintings give us an evidence that how intelligent and cultural the cavemen were.

• It also shows that they were advanced enough and they have developed the techniques to
paint on the cave walls.

• These show how the people used to document the things when there was no written
language.

• The paintings mostly consists of animals that they most likely either hunted as a major
source of food or predators that they were afraid of.
Lascaux Cave
 Discovery of Lascaux

• Lascaux lies in south-western France.

• On 12 September 1940, Lascaux cave was discovered by four young boys.

• The site has gained international recognition for its prehistoric cave paintings as a tourist
hot-spot.

• Located near the village of Montignac, it is estimated that the Paleolithic art is well 15,000
years old.

• Lascaux cave paintings have made Vezere valley in France a UNESCO World Heritage Site,
since 1979.
Image Source: https://archeologie.culture.fr/lascaux/en/discovery-0
 Discovery of Lascaux

• After the Second World War in 1948, Lascaux was opened for the public.

• However, the increasing number of visitors, around 1500 visitors a day, resulted in
unprecedented release of carbon dioxide and it soon began to damage the paintings of the
cave.

• In 1963, the caves were officially closed to the public, with the intent of restoration and
preservation of the art.

• The paintings are under close surveillance in order to preserve this site which is registered as
a the World Heritage of the Humanity by UNESCO.
 Current Status

• Lascaux was closed for public in 1963, a partial copy of the caves was opened 20 years later,
called Lascaux 2.

• Lascaux 3 is the name of a wandering exhibition shown in different locations worldwide.

• Lascaux 4, is the cave's most complete recreation to date, reconstructing the whole of one of
the 20th century's most important archeological discoveries.
Visitors inside Lascaux II Grotto in France, opening day 1983
Image Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/lascaux-cave-170323
Image Source: https://archaeology-travel.com/exhibitions/lascaux-international-exhibition-to-travel-the-world/
Image Source: https://www.archdaily.com/868408/lascaux-iv-snohetta-plus-casson-mann
 Lascaux Cave Art
• Lascaux paintings contain somewhere around 2,000 images, about 600-900 of which are of
animals, and the remainder of geometric symbols of varying shapes.

• The animals consist of species that cavemen would have hunted and eaten as well as
dangerous predators that they would have feared.

• The pigments used to paint Lascaux and other caves were derived from readily available
minerals and include red, yellow, black, brown, and violet.

• Nearly all pigments were obtained from minerals, earth or charcoal.

• The three graphic techniques used by artists at Lascaux were painting, drawing and
engraving.
Image Source: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/dec/12/humans-were-not-centre-stage-ancient-cave-art-painting-lascaux-chauvet-altamira
 Layout of Lascaux Cave
• Lascaux has traditionally been divided into
seven sectors: the Hall of the Bulls, the
Axial Gallery, the Passageway, the Nave,
the Chamber of the Felines, the Apse and
the Shaft.

• The Hall of the Bulls - This is the most

famous section of the cave and the world's
most famous underground gallery of
Paleolithic art

Image Source: https://smarthistory.org/hall-of-bulls-lascaux/

Image Source: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/lascaux-cave-paintings-discovered
Image Source: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/lascaux-cave-paintings-discovered
Image Source: https://arthearty.com/significance-of-lascaux-cave-paintings
 Some other important prehistoric caves

• Altamira Cave - About 35,600 years ago, Location: Spain

• Chauvet Cave - About 32,000 yeras ago, Location: Southern France

• Bhimbetka - 13,000 BC - 12,700 BC, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India

• Laas Gaal - 9,000 BC - 3,000 BC, Location: Somalia

• Magura Cave - 6,300 BC - 3000 BC, Location: Bulgaria

 References

• https://www.ancient.eu/Lascaux_Cave/

• https://cavepaintinghistory.weebly.com/significance.html

• https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/lascaux-cave-paintings-discovered

• http://64.130.23.120/prehistoric/lascaux-cave-paintings.htm

• http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/prehistoric/lascaux-cave-paintings.htm

• https://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-europe/lascaux-cave-0013095