Drawings at Chauvet, a still from Cave of Forgotten Dreams by Werner Herzog

Degas Drawing

Last night I watched again Werner Herzog’s film, Cave of Forgotten Dreams.  A relatively recent discovery in France, the cave at Chauvet had been closed for thousands of years by geologic events, sealed and preserved in time.  The paintings date from 40,000 years ago when the Mammoth roamed with Homo Sapiens as did his relative, the Neanderthal. What is a surprise is that these humans living in such harsh conditions, had perspective, tonal observation, perception of aspect, full bodied form and implied movement already in place.  So much for Piero and Brunelleschi.  They were also-rans in this visual game.  The sensitivity and confidence of the line in these is striking — they carry the breath of the animals they observe and create.  It is fatuous to remark but these images could have been drawn by Degas.  Look to the right at the similarity in the line quality, sensitivity to light and palpate immediacy.

Now consider the new wave of De-Skilling that is washing over current art education.  It is the notion that drawing and observational skills are part of the enforced inefficient old academy and that hip enlightened programs want to scrape off the skill sets of the past and return to the primal first cause using current technologies.  But here is what the primal looks like, present long before the Beaux Arts opened its doors.  Here is the spirit of man, the same that has been in us from the beginning.

You can find this film on YouTube and can enjoy it as often as you need a reminder of the miracle we carry.