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Great Hall of the Bulls. Lascaux, France. Paleolithic Europe. 15,000-13,000 B.C.E. Rock Painting- Layout Article
The Axial Gallery (Also called the Painted Gallery)
This rectilinear gallery is over 22 metres (72 feet) long and leads to a dead end. Its unique feature is its opening, which art critics justifiably regard as the apogee of Palaeolithic parietal art. All the classic prehistoric animals are pictorialized here in a swirl of major works of art: the Great Black Bull, the three Chinese Horses, The Falling Cow, the Fleeing Horse, as well as more aurochs, more bulls, bison, ibexes, and horses. The largest work is the 17-foot long Great Black Bull, whose monumental size is enhanced by the way the black hide is depicted against the pale background and by the absence of any other comparably sized figures nearby. Nearly all the bull's anatomy is represented, except for the front left hoof. The entire animal has been spray-painted. Thereafter, the Axial Gallery becomes a rather narrow pathway with a low ceiling. Many of the paintings have been drawn using the folds and contours of the walls to enhance depth and perspective. At the end of the Gallery, in a section known as the Meander, is the Upside-down Horse.
The Passageway
The section of the cave that connects the Hall of the Bulls to the Apse and the Nave is called the "Passageway". However, judging by the concentration of figures on its walls - 380 figures, including 240 complete or fragmentary animals like aurochs, bison, deer, horses and ibex; 80 signs, and 60 indeterminate images - prehistoric artists saw it not simply as a connecting passage but as an important gallery in its own right. It is about 17 metres (56 feet) in length and averages about 4 metres (13 feet) in width. In Solutrean times, its ceiling varied between 4 and 5 feet in height. Notable images include: a procession of engraved horses, the horse with the turned-back foot, and the bearded horse.
At the end of the Passageway is an intersection: joining from the right is the Apse; while the continuation of the Passageway is called the Nave.
The Apse
This is a semi-spherical cavern, not unlike the apse in a Romanesque basilica, hence its name. Judging by the number of ceremonial artifacts discovered here, as well as its art, the Apse is likely to have been the sacred heart of Lascaux. Roughly 4.5 metres in diameter (15 feet), its ceiling is about 1.6 to 2.7 metres in height high (5-9 feet). Almost every square inch of its limestone walls and ceiling are covered with overlapping petroglyphs in the form of engraved drawings. In all, there are more than one thousand figures: some 500 animals (mostly deer) and 600 geometric signs or other abstract markings. The Apse accounts for more than half of the decorative art in the entire cave. Curiously, the greatest density of images occurs in the deepest part of the chamber where the Apse meets the Shaft. Notable pictures include: the 6-foot wide Major Stag - the largest petroglyph at Lascaux - the remains of several large black aurochs, the Stag with Thirteen Arrows, the Panel of the Musk Ox, the Frieze of the Painted and Engraved Stags, and the Great Sorcerer.
The Shaft
In the floor of the Apse is a hole (now occupied by a ladder) giving access to "the Shaft of the Dead Man" a small part of an underlying cavern known as the Great Fissure. It is the deepest, most confined part of the entire cave. At the bottom of the ladder and on the adjoining wall is one of the most remarkableprehistoric pictographs yet discovered. The main scene depicts a fight between a bison and a man: the bison has been stabbed by a spear and appears to be dead. The man has a bird-like head and is stretched out as if he too is dead. Lying next to the man is a bird on a pole. Not surprisingly, given the fact that humans are almost never depicted in Stone Age paintings, and that complex narrative scenes like this one are equally rare, the pictograph has attracted fierce debate as to its precise meaning. Strangely, there are very few other pictures in the Shaft. Only eight have been found: four animals (bird, bison, horse, and rhino), and three geometric signs.
The Nave
The Nave measures eighteen metres (59 feet) in length, and averages 6 metres (20 feet) in width. Its ceiling varies between 2.5 metres (8.5 feet) at the entrance and 8 metres (27 feet) at the far end. The floor has a 19 percent slope, before levelling out as it leads into the Mondmilch Gallery. Most of the pictures in the Nave are engravings due to the softness of the rock. Notable areas of decoration include: the Panel of the Imprint (noted for its accompanying symbols and signs), the Panel of Seven Ibexes, the Panel of the Great Black Cow (regarded as the most beautiful scene in the cave), the Crossed Bison (best example of Magdalenian use of perspective), and the Frieze of the Swimming Stags, depicted swimming in an imaginary stream.
The Mondmilch (Moonmilk) Gallery
Between the Nave and the Chamber of the Felines, is the Mondmilch (Moonmilk) Gallery, named after its milky-coloured stalagmite encrustation. Some 20 metres (66 feet) long and about 2 metres (6.5 feet) wide, the ceiling rises as high as 8 metres (27 feet). Its crumbly surfaces explains the complete absence of any artistic decoration.
The Chamber of the Felines
About 30 metres (100 feet) long, the Chamber of the Felines differs from Lascaux's other galleries by its narrow dimensions and steep gradient which makes movement difficult. As a result, the spectator must crouch down to see the art, which - as the name suggests - includes a number of cats. In addition, there are a number of horses, and signs. Notable images include: the cats in the Niche of the Felines, and an engraving of two lions mating.