Author: Gwenn A gift
Publisher: Adelphi
Year edition: 2022
Format: Paperback
Pages of the printed version: 320 p.
EAN: 9788845936760
€ 32,00
Gwenn Rigal, for many years guide-interpreter in the famous cave of Lascaux, accompanies us in the discovery of wall art of the European Upper Paleolithic, whose charm still leaves us amazed today. Produced between 40000 and 12000 years ago, and homogeneously spread over an immense territory, extending from the Atlantic to the Urals, it was the fruit of what can be considered the first European civilization. But why did our Cro-Magnon ancestors venture into the depths of the caves to paint, engrave and sculpt their mute masterpieces? Rigal tries to answer this crucial question through a critical review of all the theories formulated by scholars in over a century of research aimed at explaining the meaning of cave art. A complex picture emerges, in which very different interpretative hypotheses – magical practices? religious ceremonies? mythical depictions? totemism? animism? – each appear convincing in itself, but difficult to reconcile with the others. A picture that Rigal illustrates in an exposition as rigorous as it is accessible, and which he enriches by also taking into account the most recent discoveries and continuous scientific progress: from dating methods to stratigraphic procedures, to 3D modeling. Thus, a bright glimmer of light on the life and mind of the first European artists will open before the reader - and on one of the most precious heritages re-emerged from an ancient past.
