Houston Matters

Exhibit Brings Replicas of World’s Oldest Art to Houston

In September of 1940 four French boys discovered a long-forgotten cave full of prehistoric art. The Lascaux Cave, as it’s now known, has been dubbed the “Sistine Chapel of Pre-history,” because it’s adorned with ancient frescos of bulls, deer and bison. The caves have been closed to the public since the 1960s to protect them, […]

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Image Courtesy: Sisse Brimberg, National Geographic

In September of 1940 four French boys discovered a long-forgotten cave full of prehistoric art. The Lascaux Cave, as it’s now known, has been dubbed the “Sistine Chapel of Pre-history,” because it’s adorned with ancient frescos of bulls, deer and bison. The caves have been closed to the public since the 1960s to protect them, but to make them accessible to an international public several exact replicas of some of the paintings were made — a set of which is on display through March 23 at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Houston Public Media’s Ernie Manouse took a tour of the exhibit with the museum’s Amanda Norris who says the pieces are replicas of some of the oldest artwork known to exist – about 20,000 years old.

More: You can see Ernie’s entire piece on the Lascaux Caves on Arts InSight, Thursday night at 7 on Houston PBS.

Virtual Tour of the Lascaux Caves:


 

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