Art and Home Decor

The Grotte Chauvet in France holds some of the oldest and best-preserved example of prehistoric artwork known to man. Dating 32,000 years old, or older, are carvings of animals almost perfectly preserved in the cave walls. Pre-historic man had no written language and all stories were passed down from generation to generation through the use of this type of art. Cave drawings were the first ever known artworks.

During this period and up to the invention of the written language, most artwork depicted real life events and featured the animals that were hunted in the area and the daily activities early man had from day to day. Many believe it was used more for communication with other people and not purely for aesthetic reasons. Pre-historic art pieces are very rare and almost always tell a story.

When ancient civilizations developed a form of written languages they entered into what we now call, the ancient art period. Those civilizations included Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, India and China. Each developed separate styles and more artwork from that period has survived than from the pre-historic periods. We have also learned more about how the artists worked in this period through the art they produced.

During the post-ancient Western Art period, also known as the Middle Ages, the church had a heavy influence over the art of the period. This period of art was later named, Gothic art. It’s greatest expression was in the Gothic architecture of the period as shown mainly in gothic cathedrals. There was no need to depict the reality of the time instead art presented people in a more idealized form. Later in this period came what is known as the Renaissance period.

The Renaissance period was a return to a focus on the material world and depicted people and things in a more realistic and three-dimensional way. This period has been viewed as a link between the Middle Ages and the modern world in regards to the reality and the study of the art all over again. Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci are two of the artists who flourished during this period.

The Renaissance period is a very important one because it set in motion so many things that are still affecting the art world to this very day. This period spanned between the 14^th and 17^th centuries and began in Italy and then later to the rest of Europe. This period also showed a rebirth in education and intellectual transformations in both art as well as the world in general.

Some attribute the Black Death and the devastation it caused to have helped bring about the Renaissance period. In the aftermath of so much loss in Italy, many great thinkers and artists began to dwell more on their lives on earth rather than their spirituality and the afterlife. This may have not been the only catalyst for the period, but it is believed to have helped.

This all takes us to the present and into the Contemporary art period. With the many sweeping changes that were made through science, the shattering of old world beliefs on how the universe worked and with more and more people able to obtain a solid education, art once again took a different turn. The history of art in the 20^th century is one of continual change and endless possibilities.

During this period we have Impressionism, Fauvism, Cubism, Expressionism, Dadaism, Surrealism and other lesser-known styles. They are all different in many ways but, at the same time, they all exist together. The main reason for the different names is more to depict when they began as opposed to their style or content.

Modernism, which is the idealistic search for truth in the world, was moved aside by a realization of the unattainable nature of that search. Relativity was accepted as the truth, which led into the Postmodern period in which cultures from all over the world are seen as being in a state of constant change and movement.

Now that people are able to communicate at the speed of light and information, artwork can now travel the globe in mere seconds. The influence of art is overlapping faster and with greater effect than ever in the history of art. A style that exists in one part of the world can now influence art in other parts of the world in a matter of days or even minutes.

Architecture has, with the help of better materials and education have taken the world of building art to a whole new level creating buildings that, not all too long ago, would have been impossible to construct. The landscapes of major cities are becoming the newest canvas for the modern architect to create their version of art.

In this time period, art is no longer singled out as being regional as it now has a global coexistence. The increasing mixing of cultures has blurred the lines of cultural art to the point where we are now. Art is something that stems from a global culture and a global mindset. As the history of art is continually created, we may yet see another great movement, universal art.