Paleolithic Art: Did you mean...?

Ancient Egyptian art was created to serve a practical purpose, not for its own sake, and so every piece had a specific function. At the same time, these works were crafted in accordance with the cultural value of ma'at (harmony) and so attention...

Chinese culture developed from small communities such as Banpo Village (c. 4500 BCE) through the early Xia Dynasty (c. 2070-1600 BCE) and the great dynastic periods that followed after, creating some of the most striking and memorable works...

The ancient Greeks were masters at picking up ideas from other cultures, mixing these with their own innovations and producing unique contributions to world culture. Greek sculptors adored the human form, painters loved to tell stories on...

The two Prehistoric Rock Art Sites in the Côa Valley (Portugal) and Siega Verde (Spain) are located on the banks of the rivers Agueda and Côa, tributaries of the river Douro, documenting continuous human occupation from the end of the Paleolithic...

The Jomon Period (c. 14,500 - c. 300 BCE) of ancient Japan produced a distinctive pottery which distinguishes it from the earlier Paleolithic Age. Jomon pottery vessels are the oldest in the world and their impressed decoration, which resembles...

Persia (roughly modern-day Iran) is among the oldest inhabited regions in the world. Archaeological sites in the country have established human habitation dating back 100,000 years to the Paleolithic Age with semi-permanent settlements (most...

A late 15th century CE tempera panel credited to Masaccio and known as 'The Founders of Florentine Art'. The five portraits in the panel are (left to right): Giotto, Paolo Uccello, Donatello, Manetti and Filippo Brunelleschi. (Louvre, Paris...

A view of the 2018 CE exhibition 'Naked! The Art of Nudity' at the Antikenmuseum, Basel, Switzerland. © Ruedi Habegger, Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig

The Art Nouveau period (c. 1890-1910 CE) saw the facades of Portuguese houses and buildings decorated with the flowing, curved lines of flowers, plants, vines, leaves, insects and animals that were typical of the Art Nouveau movement. This...

Installation photograph, The Jeweled Isle: Art from Sri Lanka, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, December 5, 2018–June 23, 2019, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA