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Contribution of the Support
From a very early stage, studies of
parietal art drew attention to the particular treatment of certain
figures, which ostensibly look rough but are in fact completed by the
integration of the natural relief or unevenness of the rock, the shapes
of which suggest the missing parts of the body. [48] In many caves,
there is a lot of potential for natural forms to be transformed into
animal or human representations, but the number of figures constructed
in this way remains limited. While the direct participation of the wall
in an outline is marginal, it may play a major role under certain
circumstances. This use of the natural surroundings can occur on various
scales, from taking into account a single contour that evokes a simple
anatomical form, to including the multiple forms of galleries or halls,
which then determine the construction of pictorial compositions.
Lascaux's lack of classic concretions,
such as stalactites, flows or curtains, may partially explain the
limited number of examples observed. Indeed, concretions only rarely
take on large enough dimensions for the realization of animals and are
often limited to a simple encrustation a few millimetres thick.
Furthermore, the rock often does not have an accentuated relief or
pronounced fissures. Only the scars of flakes along the junctions of
strata attracted Palaeolithic man's attention.
The wall and its contours could be used
in a number of ways: as a simple component in a work, as the substitute
for one or another of its elements or even to suggest a guideline to the
artist. The natural component brings a supplementary dimension to the
interpretation of the relief. The eye of the yellow stag (frieze of the
Small Stags, Hall of the Bulls) is one example, created from a calcite
growth some fifteen millimetres in diameter (ill. 173).
173 The involvement of the
background relief can affect only a single anatomical part, as in the
case of the yellow stag (the frieze of the Small Stags, Hall of the
Bulls), in which the eye is replaced by a calcite growth.
The use of the contours of the wall as a
guideline is the most widespread procedure. Palaeolithic man used this
method in the Hall of the Bulls, on the yellow stag. The stag's bez
tines and forehead follow the ridge of a concavity, projecting the image
of the animal into the foreground. This hollow formation is also used to
give form to the hindquarters of the red stag immediately in front. The
brown horse above the frieze of the Small Stags has the same
characteristics. Only its head, neck and back have been drawn, and the
arc formed by the upper line follows the natural curve created by the
exfoliation of the support. Nonetheless, the structural line of this
animal only partly follows the discontinuity, over a few decimetres. The
way in which the bend radius of the edge of the flake increases towards
the front of the horse clearly did not suit the artist. It would have
required moving the head and neck too close to the upper edge of the
panel, or indeed crossing its limits.
174 The line of the ground, shown by
a deep natural ledge on the wall, falls back behind the forelimbs of
this horse in the panel of the Great Black Bull, Axial Gallery,
suggesting that the animal is falling.
Sometimes a relief is substituted for a
marking in order to represent an important surface of the subject. In
this case the outlines obtained for the animal tend to merge with those
of the peripheral contours (ill. 172). The horse above the Hemione
contains only a single painted element, a very elongated yellow patch,
inclined at 40º, which maintains a
constant width over the first 30 centimetres, then flares into a
sub-triangular shape. The interpretation of the figure is simplified by
the proximity of a field of colour, in form analogous to that which
traces the lower line of the neck of the Hemione. The painting technique
is identical, in the treatment and the placement of the stencil and in
the orientation and inclination of the drawing. The upper line of the
panel, which is highlighted by lateral lighting, allows us to understand
the work because it sketches the neck, the line of the back and the
croup without interruption. Furthermote, the specific morphology of the
wall suggests the presence of the tail and the beginning of a hindlimb.
Two cervids in the frieze of the Small Stags were constructed using the
same principle. They have anatomical parts borrowed from the negatives
of flakes, the head and the antlers for the stag on the left, the entire
body, neck and head for the one on the tight. This suppresses the
subject, projecting it into the second plane.
On the smaller surfaces, from a few
centimetres to a metre, the association of markings and the forms of the
wall sometimes evokes the line of the ground. This occurs repeatedly at
Lascaux (Hall of the Bulls, the panel of the Great Black Cow in the
Nave, the Great Black Bull in the Axial Gallery). The line of the ground
is here formed by a stratigraphic discontinuity, followed underneath by
a reversion of the wall to the front. This so-called exogenous
formation, in the sense that it does not participate directly in the
outline of the animal figure, plays a role only in the positioning of
the figures.
Careful observation allowed us to
recognize other, admittedly less obvious, applications of this
principle, the primary function of which is to accompany the animation
given to certain figures. These examples are located in the same place,
around the Upside-down Horse. At the left of this panel and at the
beginning of the locality the Galloping Horse is seen behind the Great
Black Bull (ill. 174). Its limbs, at their maximum extension, do not all
rest on a horizontal line; only the hindlimbs test on a discontinuity of
the surface, that is on a deep incision bordered at its base by a ridge
of the wall. This fissure, which begins 50 centimetres behind the
animal, is interrupted below the chest, while the two forelimbs extend
beyond it. The slight inclination of the horse towards the front, around
15°, suggests the beginning of a falling motion, an impression confirmed
by the very localized absence of the line of the ground beneath the
front part of the animal.
The Falling Cow is on the facing wall,
dominating a long procession of small horses. It has many similarities
with the previous subject: the use of the same colours, the very precise
reproduction of the outlines, the care taken over numerous details and
the similar animation, all of which allow the two works to be attributed
to the same artist. The twisting motion given to the hindquarters of the
bovine and the position of the hindlimbs, gathered up under the belly,
show that the cow is falling. The raised head, with the forehead painted
horizontally as an extension of the line of the back, reinforces the
suggestion of instability. This cow is partly twisted into the hollow of
a large horizontal depression, the lower edge of which follows the
contours of the croup, the belly and the chest. The outstretched
forelimbs extend beyond this hollow to simulate the absence of the
ground. These examples show the use of natural forms for an identical
goal, but a hollow was used for the horse and a projection for the
aurochs.
The third example is the Upside-down
Horse (ill. 175), whose fall is indicated by the vertical orientation of
the body. The line of the back and the croup follow a projection of the
wall over a double gradient forwards and to the right. The animal was
painted in the convex part of a meander, which is a distinctive feature
given the generally straight alignment of the gallery. The base of this
false buttress lies 40 centimetres above the floor of the gallery. The
relief has been used in two ways: to accompany the line of the back and
to suggest emptiness through the marked discontinuity at the base of the
panel.
The narrowing of the gallery at the
threshold makes the morphology of the entrance to the locality of the
Upside- own Horse look like a gaping chasm. This constriction is marked
on both sides by broad red stains. The topography of the location places
the Upside-down Horse close to the two above-mentioned figures to each
side of the gallery on the final panels before the locality. These three
works, located within a limited area, are commonly treated separately,
because they are on different panels. However, several arguments suggest
that they are related: they show the same animation, and the
morphologically different but functionally identical natural elements
were taken into account. Such commonalities enable us to envisage real
connections between these three animals.
In the course of this relative study of
the use of the wall, it is important to remember the role played by
natural elements in the representation of the third dimension. Thus, a
natural concavity may, under certain angles of illumination,
paradoxically evoke a convexity suitable for the outline of the flank of
an equid or a bovine. The outlines of the Red Cow with the Black Collar,
for example, are associated with elements of the relief: the belly lies
in a very large concavity, which is brought out by oblique lighting. The
outlines of the croup and the hindlimbs of the red stag between the
first bull and the black and yellow cervid in the Hall of the Bulls are
simulated by an oblong concavity that prolongs the silhouette.
The wall support is also an important
influence on the structuration of the panels, nor only on the individual
animals but, in most cases, the graphic compositions as a whole. From
this point of view, it forms one of the major constituents of the art of
Lascaux and plays a fundamental role in the spatial organization of the
works. To some extent, the structure and the type of available surfaces
have dictated the structure of the panels without influencing their
themes or their composition. Certain morphological or chromatic
variations of the walls, or indeed the two combined, playa decisive
role.
175 The false pillar, around which
is wound the figure of the Upside-down Horse, Axial Gallery, is not
attached to the floor. The void suggested by this feature contributes to
the falling motion of this figure.
The heterogeneity of the different
stratigraphic units of the wall generates specific patterns in the
sections of the galleries. These are caused by differences in the
hardness of the rock and the ways in which the cave was cut. As a
result, there are ridges, faults, platforms and recesses all over the
walls. The horizontality of the strata creates regular and unbroken
forms within the same space. They can also lead to architectural
similarities between one hall and the next, such as those observed in
the Hall of the Bulls, the Apse and the Nave. The most appropriate
surfaces and levels are exploited. Equally, the lines marking the
transition between these geological formations will be perceived as
lines of structure. Their forms are generally ridges, due to the
juxtaposition of concavities or the superimposition of layers. Examples
of lines created on the basis of localized concretions are rare. This
participation of the support can be reinforced by changes in its colour.
The decorated band of the Hall of the Bulls extends between a ridge
running along the top and a projecting formation below. This change of
level is accentuated by a difference in colour which develops from a
slightly stained white to a very pronounced brown.
Access
to the Walls
Opening the site to the public
necessitated modifications to the underground space. The floors were
heavily altered. Mounds of clay covering the bottom of the ledges in the
Hall of the Bulls were removed, at the same time increasing the distance
to the parietal works. It was the same in the Passageway, which was
originally very low. Today, a trench more than 1 metre deep and 2 metres
wide impinges on the centre of this gallery. Beyond this, the front part
of the Apse and, to a lesser extent, the back of this hall were emptied,
in order to facilitate access to the Shaft. The Nave suffered an
identical fate in order to give the passage a less pronounced slope.
These modifications made it more difficult to access some of the walls,
particularly where Palaeolithic man had resorted to the use of
scaffolding in the first place.
These problems of access were not
encountered in the Passageway, the Shaft or the Chamber of the Felines,
where the decorated surfaces are all located less than 1.5 metres from
the floor. In the Apse, however, some of the engraved and painted
figures are quite some distance from the observer. After the discovery,
as we have mentioned, the floor was lowered between 1 and 1.5 metres
over the entire area of the hall. Before the alterations, almost all the
works were therefore within arm's reach. Only the large stag located
below the intersection and the figures of the vault required extra
equipment in order to gain access. In the Nave, the artists profited
from the proximity of the wall in the case of three panels, the Ibexes,
the Imprint and the Crossed Bison. Between the latter two compositions
would be inserted that of the Great Black Cow, with its long procession
of horses extending over 7 metres. Between the two ends, the floor level
drops significantly. A horizontal shelf underlines this panel, a
platform of irregular width, ranging from 50 centimetres at the near and
far ends to 1 metre in the centre. The three-dimensional nature and the
scale of this long fresco showed us that the artist stood on this narrow
edge without the use of scaffolding in order to execute all the figures.
On the facing wall, only the frieze of the Swimming Stags was drawn.
This group of aligned figures noticeably follows the slope of the floor.
Here and there, short, more or less sloping ledges give purchase, a
particular feature of this wall that enabled the artist to dispense with
any form of structure. In the same space there are long incised lines at
the base of the domes of the ceiling, at an inaccessible level. We have
not been able to discern any shape in this lattice of lines. The
inaccessibility of these surfaces and the random nature of the marks
make us think they were drawn with the help of sticks held at arm's
length, as the rock is soft enough here to be marked without too much
pressure.
These problems of access have been
discussed since the first studies of Lascaux, and the placement of the
painted figures on the underside of the ceilings of the Hall of the
Bulls and the Axial Gallery has been the subject of numerous
investigations. Andre Glory [49] provided the first answers, claiming to
have 'identified, on the sides of the Axial Gallery, the stalagmite
encrusted placement of interlocked beams which were used in the painting
of the Great Black Bull'. However, the calcification of the clay
deposits occurred much earlier than the passage of man. This is
demonstrated by the markings painted on top of these formations, in
particular the hooves of the Great Black Bull or those of the aurochs of
the Hall of the Bulls. If the carbonates had been deposited later than
the markings, the paintings would have shown this. The identification of
imprints of the ends of beams in certain cavities or on ledges was a
result of a poorly argued hypothesis.
176 The outlines of the fifth bull
of the Hall of the Bulls have been executed using two techniques: the
front parts were sprayed with pulverized pigment, while a brush was used
for the less accessible segments. The entrance to the Passageway opens
beneath the hindlimbs.
177 At the height of the line
of the belly of the fifth bull in the Hall of the Bulls, the transition
marking the change of technique is immediate.
On the other hand, the excavations
carried out by Glory did bring to light many fragments of charcoal,
distributed in all the archaeological layers (end of the Axial Gallery,
the Shaft and the Passageway). The identification of the wood
revealed the presence of deciduous oak. and juniper and, in smaller
proportions, pine, birch, alder and hazel. Most of the fragments had
narrow tree rings, particularly those of juniper, some pieces of which
were recovered from the lamps where they functioned as a wick. On the
other hand, the oak and the pine had growth rings with a greater radius
of curvature, showing that wooden elements with larger diameters were
brought into the cave, possibly to construct equipment with which to
access the walls, but also to feed the hearths used for lighting.
Claude Barriere and Ali Sahly conducted
many studies on this subject. [50] In the Axial Gallery they noted the
presence of a series of small cavities and ledges, spaced more or less
regularly and located on both sides of the gallery, at the height of the
lower level, which might have served as scaffolding holes. Furthermore,
they recorded imprints of timber on the argillaceous ledge underlying
the frieze of the Small Horses of the panel of the Falling Cow, possibly
showing the use of such wooden structures.
In fact, the hypothesis that scaffolding
was used in this gallery cannot be dismissed. In the first third of the
Axial Gallery, the absence of ledges on which Palaeolithic people could
have climbed in order to reach an adequate height implies the
positioning of such constructions, since here the painted works are
located between 3 and 4 metres above the ancient floor. In the
publication directed by Arlette Leroi-Gourhan and Jacques Allain, a
chapter is dedicated to this theme. [51] The authors discuss the same
observations, extending the principle to the entire Axial Gallery,
despite the absence of relevant evidence. Although it appears quite
possible that scaffolding was used, this does not mean that the
principle can be extrapolated generally: the technical analysis of
certain paintings confirms this.
178 Transverse sections of the
gallery at the level of the Great Black Bull, Axial Gallery. Note the
absence of a ledge in the section of wall traversing the rear part of
the aurochs.
In the Hall of the Bulls, the problem
applies to a section of the works. The cross section of this hall
presents an overhang at a mean angle of 60° relative to the vertical.
The figures close to its upper border are therefore displaced towards
the central part of the hall, in such a way that they were executed on
the ceiling rather than on a wall. For most of them, the artist could
dispense with scaffolding with a simple change of technique, by
extending his reach: for example, by using a brush with a longer handle.
As for the sprayed figures, it was absolutely necessary to be as close
to the wall as possible, in particular for the bichrome horse and the
brown horse on the left wall. The respective dimensions of these two
figures are sufficiently modest that the artist did not have to change
his position much during the course of his work. The use of a small
wooden structure placed below the figures gave him easier access to the
wall. Furthermore, the use of surfaces towards the middle of the gallery
ruled our any abutting against the wall. These observations suggest that
small wooden structures, which can perhaps be compared to stools, were
used only very intermittently, when the painting instruments had reached
their limits.
Another illustration of the
interdependence between the artist and the wall is given by the fifth
bull of the Hall of the Bulls. This is a drawing in which only the
outlines of the muzzle, the chest, the forelimbs and part of the line of
the belly have been traced by spraying, whereas the hindquarters and the
upper line were drawn with a brush (ill. 176). Those of the withers, the
head and the horns were executed by a juxtaposition of connected dots,
from 2 to 3 centimetres in diameter, which gives a greater precision to
the alignment of the lines and thus permits a more accomplished outline.
The particularly clear technical break is seen at the height of the line
of the belly (ill. 177). The sprayed part is interrupted two thirds of
the way along the curve, where it is replaced by a section drawn with a
brush. The origin of these changes can be traced in constraints in the
morphology of the gallery: the ledge of the wall, upon which it is
possible to climb in order to be at the desired height, only underlies
the left part of the figure. On the right, the opening of the Passageway
lies below, impeding access to the wall. Moreover, the strong overhang,
which extends across the entire useable surface, from the edge to the
centre of the Hall of the Bulls, distances this from the ridge at the
base of the wall. Access to the upper level is thus only possible with
the use of brushes or pads at the end of a handle long enough to execute
the outlines of this very large figure.
179 Two graphic techniques were
necessary to complete the Great Black Bull, Axial Gallery. The head and
two thirds of the body were sprayed, while a brush was used for the
upper part and the tail. This procedure is primarily dependent upon
constraints of access to the walls.
In the Axial Gallery, the base of the
panel of the Great Black Bull lies some 1.9 metres above the level of
the floor (ill. 179). Two techniques were used for this second large
representation. Whereas the lower two thirds of the figure were executed
by spraying, the upper line, the top of the head, the horns and the tail
have been traced with a brush. This was once interpreted as repainting,
even as an episode at a later period. Closer examination reveals that
this change occurs as a curve extending from the poll and crossing the
middle of the thigh. On the other hand, the cross section of the ledge
below the animal is at an angle (ill. 178), which renders the shelf
broader at the front of the animal than at its right extremity, where
the space available to stand upright diminishes significantly before
disappearing altogether. These two observations reveal that the part
created by spraying is found at the level of a man perched on the ledge.
Beyond this point, the artist, unable to continue using this technique,
executed his line with a brush, artificially increasing his field of
action. The use of scaffolding was thus unnecessary.
The same panel shows a second example of
the same sort. Behind the Great Black Bull are the incomplete outlines
of a female aurochs overlying the left hindlimb (ill. 180). Its partial
character (only the forequarters were painted) is related, above all, to
the morphology of the wall. The ledge is interrupted at the level of the
forelimbs of the bovine. Looking at the orientation of the sprayed
pigments says a lot about the position of the artist. From the head to
the neck the axis of spraying remains perpendicular to the wall, but
becomes increasingly inclined moving towards the back, which must have
brought the artist very close to the wall. The density of the pigment
decreases from the chest to the right edge of the flank due to the
growing masking effect of the microstructures of the wall. Beyond the
clearly incomplete field of colour a weak angular brush stroke gives
form to the section formed by the line of the belly and the beginning of
the left hindlimb. This final addition demonstrates the impossibility of
access to this zone, despite the evident wish to complete the drawing.
These observations show that the
realization of a work or composition was largely determined by the
morphology of the support, which sometimes forced a change of technique.
The artists knew how to adapt themselves to situations and how to make
the best possible use of them.
180 The decrease in colour intensity
observed on the right section of the coat of this cow, in the panel of
the Great Black Bull (Axial Gallery), was caused by the way in which the
artist sprayed the pigments. In the absence of a step, which could have
provided access to this figure, the further away the surface is from the
standpoint, the shallower the angle of projection of the pigment.
Correspondingly, the pigments have been spread more thinly - hence this
clear fading.
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