Famous Chinese Horse Painting

In the 1940’s while playing in a hidden cave in Lascaux, France, many children found a remarkable painting on the wall. After telling about their findings, researches and explorers visited the cave and it was then they saw the “Chinese Horse”. The art got its name because it resembled the ceramic horses of the Han Dynasty in China. Although the reasoning for the painting is unknown, they research has shown that several paintings in this era included plants and animals. It was not the only painting of a horse found on a cave wall.

However, it is thought that the artist wanted to protect his work and for it to survive, that is why he or she chose a place far into the cave. Most of the painting was applied directly to the wall by a flickering fire light and paint containing Earth elements and animal fat. Other parts of the painting were blown through reeds causing a special affect. It was placed on a sandstone wall. Most cave walls were not smooth; they had a lot of rough textures and cracks. The painting itself consisted of warm earth like, fall colors.

These colors included: browns, tans, reds, greens. The horse in the painting has a large sagging stomach. Researches believe the horse was meant to look pregnant. The head of the horse was very small. Personally, I think the head was small and the stomach was so large because the artist wanted to emphasis the unborn colt in the mother. He or she was not worried so much about the adult horse but more the child. Maybe, like many mothers and females who want to be mothers think, the artist was hoping for a child.

I know when I was pregnant I would see small children and infants and think about the child inside of me. So, maybe the artist was kind of doing the same thing. Maybe the artist was a female who wanted a child. Also, there are red arrow-like paintings around the horse. Researchers think they could be plants or arrows. I think the look like wheat. I believe the horse is running in a field as if it is free. It reminds me of our history when the Indians roamed free and malls and grocery stores did not exist.

The artist may be trying to express this feeling. The artist used earth tone colors to resemble warmth and closure. It could also represent freedom. The horse could be pregnant and roaming in a field awaiting her new colt. Works Cited “PAINTING ON A ROCK- A 20,000 YEAR OLD LEGACY”. Echoes In Time. 2007. Web. 7 September 2010. “Chinese Horse Prehistoric Pictograph from Lascaux Caves”. E-Museum Store. Web. 7 September 2010. Schneider-Adams, Laurie. A HISTORY OF WESTERN ART. McGraw Hill: 2004, Revised 4th Edition.

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