The prehistoric paintings of the Pech Merle Cave in France and The Starry Night by renowned painter Vincent van Gogh are among the most famous artworks worldwide. Both works portray the elements of the real world available to the artists at the time, yet the realness is distorted through the choice of painting technique. The authors of the cave drawings remain unknown, but they painted animals and scenes from their everyday lives using hands and primitive paints. Similarly, van Gogh painted a vista of the night sky from his room in the asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, a landscape accessible to him during a part of his life (Lin, 2019). However, there are far many differences in the artworks under consideration. Cave drawings focus on animals, while the Dutch painter centers on human creations on a backdrop of a dark night. Furthermore, the detachment from reality was a conscious choice by van Gogh, while in the case of cave paintings, it can be argued to be unintentional.
Although there are certain similarities between the drawings found in the Pech Merle Cave and van Gogh’s The Starry Night, the intention and contemporary perception of the artworks differ substantially. The animal-centric cave drawings served primarily an aesthetic function for the cave dwellers, who based their art on their surroundings. In addition, a cultural storytelling function is proposed, as many images appear to relate different stories with specific positioning alongside cave walls (Smith, 2020). Today, the Pech Merle Cave paintings are viewed as a piece of history and educational material that helps modern people understand the lives of their prehistoric ancestors. Meanwhile, The Starry Night was likely intended as a curative output for van Gogh himself and contemplation on death and comfort that can be found in the idea of death (Lin, 2019). Although the artist’s intent casts certain restrictions on contemporary viewers, the painting might be seen in a variety of ways by the viewers. Foremost, it remains a window into the mind of a brilliant painter.
In summary, the prehistoric paintings of Peche Merle Cave and van Gogh’s The Starry Night are reflections of the natural world that was witnessed and captured by the artists. The cave drawings are an example of early artistic intent held by people, while van Gogh’s creative choices are purposeful. Nevertheless. Both creations provide a certain insight into the minds and lives of people separated by millennia.
References
Lin, H. (2019). Starry nights: Whitman, epilepsy, and van Gogh. Walt Whitman Quarterly Review, 36(2/3), 189–201. Web.
Smith, J. E. (2020). What cave art means. ARTnews.com. Web.