| | [[Image:Cave art at Lascaux.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Cave art c.15000-10000 B.C. discovered at Lascaux, France]] | | [[Image:Cave art at Lascaux.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Cave art c.15000-10000 B.C. discovered at Lascaux, France]] |
| − | Painting as an art form is known to have been practiced all over the world since the [[Upper Paleolithic]] period<ref>[http://www.tate.org.uk/collections/glossary/definition.jsp?entryId=435 ''Painting'']. Glossary. The Tate Collection. Tate.org.uk. 14 May 2008</ref>, with fine examples of cave paintings over 17,000 years old being discovered in Lascaux and the Ardèche Valley in [[France]] which demonstrate the conscious use of skill and creative imagination: "They are not stick figures or squiggles. Lines are clear and filled with tints. The animals are vibrant. By utilizing cave features, some of the renderings even have perspective."<ref>[http://www.beyondbooks.com/art11/2.asp ''Painting before 1300'']. History of Painting. BeyondBooks.com. 14 May 2008</ref> These paintings were made using [[pigment]]s inherent in variously coloured earths and powdered rock applied directly to the cave walls and usually depict [[animal]]s, although there are also some human figures. The oldest known paintings are at the Grotte Chauvet in France, dated at about 32,000 years old. They are very simply engraved and painted using red ochre and black pigment and depict [[horse]]s, [[rhinoceros]], [[lion]]s, [[buffalo]], and [[mammoth]]. | + | Painting as an art form is known to have been practiced all over the world since the [[Upper Paleolithic]] period<ref>[http://www.tate.org.uk/collections/glossary/definition.jsp?entryId=435 ''Painting'']. Glossary. The Tate Collection. Tate.org.uk. 14 May 2008</ref>, with fine examples of cave paintings claimed to be ancient<ref>The dating of cave paintings is often done by dating material found near the paintings, which has obvious defects as a measure of the age of the painting itself.</ref> being discovered in Lascaux and the Ardèche Valley in [[France]] which demonstrate the conscious use of skill and creative imagination: "They are not stick figures or squiggles. Lines are clear and filled with tints. The animals are vibrant. By utilizing cave features, some of the renderings even have perspective."<ref>[http://www.beyondbooks.com/art11/2.asp ''Painting before 1300'']. History of Painting. BeyondBooks.com. 14 May 2008</ref> These paintings were made using [[pigment]]s inherent in variously coloured earths and powdered rock applied directly to the cave walls and usually depict [[animal]]s, although there are also some human figures. Some claim that the oldest known paintings are at the Grotte Chauvet in France, though it could also be a hoax. They are very simply engraved and painted using red ochre and black pigment and depict a cute collection of [[horse]]s, [[rhinoceros]], [[lion]]s, [[buffalo]], and [[mammoth]]. |
| | ''We know from textual and archaeological sources that painting was practiced in China from very early times and in a variety of media. Wall paintings were produced in great numbers in the early period of China's history.'' <ref>[http://depts.washington.edu/chinaciv/painting/4ptgintr.htm Chinese Painting]</ref> | | ''We know from textual and archaeological sources that painting was practiced in China from very early times and in a variety of media. Wall paintings were produced in great numbers in the early period of China's history.'' <ref>[http://depts.washington.edu/chinaciv/painting/4ptgintr.htm Chinese Painting]</ref> |