VEZERE VALLEY - Lascaux, prehistoric cave paintings

Reference : FR067

POSTCARD AVAILABLE FOR TRADE
Size : 10 x 15 cm

"Grotte de Lascaux (Dordogne) - Taureau, Cerf, Cheval, Cheval Chinois, Grand Taureau et Chevaux, environ 17 000 ans avant J.-C."

Location of LASCAUX in FRANCE :

Lascaux is the setting of a complex of caves in southwestern France famous for its Paleolithiccave paintings. The original caves are located near the village of Montignac, in the Dordogne département. They contain some of the best-known Upper Paleolithic art. These paintings are estimated to be 17 000 years old. They primarily consist of primitive images of large animals, most of which are known from fossil evidence to have lived in the area at the time. In 1979, Lascaux was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list along with other prehistoric sites in the Vézère valley.

The cave was discovered on September 12, 1940 by four teenagers, Marcel Ravidat, Jacques Marsal, Georges Agnel, and Simon Coencas, as well as Marcel's dog, Robot.

The cave contains nearly 2 000 figures, which can be grouped into three main categories — animals, human figures and abstract signs. Notably, the paintings contain no images of the surrounding landscape or the vegetation of the time. Most of the major images have been painted onto the walls using mineral pigments, although some designs have also been incised into the stone.

As one of the main sites of the Vézère Valley,

Lascaux is registered as a UNESCO w.h.s.

UNESCO w.h.s. :
Prehistoric sites and decorated caves
of the Vézère Valley

Date of inscription : 1979

The Vézère valley contains 147 prehistoric sites dating from the Palaeolithic and 25 decorated caves. It is particularly interesting from an ethnological and anthropological, as well as an aesthetic point of view because of its cave paintings, especially those of the Lascaux Cave, whose discovery in 1940 was of great importance for the history of prehistoric art. The hunting scenes show some 100 animal figures, which are remarkable for their detail, rich colours and lifelike quality.