Paleolithic Sculpture
The earliest of all human
representations were these small nude female figurines which were found in
Paleolithic sites. The archeologists who first discovered these began to call
them “Venuses” after the Greco-Roman goddess of beauty and love.
Today, this is the so-called Venus
of Willendorf is simply regarded as a Stone Age sculpture of a nude
woman. It was carved sometime between
28,000 and 23,000 B.C. It was discovered
in
This is an example of
sculpture in the round. In other words, this work of art is fully
three-dimensional and is meant to be viewed from all sides.
It was created by carving away the stone, which is a subtractive method of
creating sculpture. The piece is less than 5 inches tall. The
subject is a woman who has no facial features. Some scholars
have argued that she is wearing a hat woven from plant fibers, but we do not
know for sure. It is
simplified in form. Her breasts and belly are enormous,
especially in the context of her very rudimentary arms and hands. Likewise, it appears that the artist carved a
public triangle (this is not always the case).
But because there is an emphasis on sexuality, this was probably
intended to depict fertility. It was
probably not meant to be a portrait, which is an image meant to capture the
likeness of a specific person.
Woman holding a bison horn, Laussel, Dordogne, France, ca. 25,000-20,000 B.C.
This is an example of relief
sculpture, which is a sculpture that project from a two-dimensional surface.
Like the Venus of Willendorf, it was created using the subtractive method
of removing stone from the surface. It is about 1 ½ feet tall and was part of a large
stone which stood in front of a Paleolithic rock shelter in
Once again, note the exaggerated
breasts, abdomen, and hips. Note that we still
see a
featureless head (though it also looks damaged). Here, the arms and hand are more fully rendered. One hand rests on a pregnant belly, while the
other hand holds a horn — the meaning
of which is unknown.
Two bison, clay relief in cave at Le Tuc d’Audoubert, Ariège, France, ca. 12,000 B.C.
These are clay relief
sculptures that were discovered in the cave tubes
at Le Tuc d’Audoubert in
These bison were executed in a
strict profile and are approximately 2 feet long.
They represent examples of additive sculpture because the clay was built up, modeled, and smoothed by hand.
The details are engraved with a sharp tool known as a burin. The cracks appeared as the clay dried.
Bison with turned head,
from La Madeleine,
This piece of sculpture has a
truly remarkable composition! Using a relatively flat piece of a reindeer
horn, the artist envisioned a bison in three-dimensional space with the head
turned back toward the tail. The animal appears to be licking its fur (or
perhaps licking a wound). The elements of the composition are carved
on the surface of the horn with a sharp point.
Also, note that the carving is very
detailed. We see horns, eye, ear, nostrils, mouth and hair of the bison.