As you search for “history of painting” on search engines, you might not find many articles or references that summarise the historic journey of art and paintings. However, this phenomenon dates back to artefacts from pre-historic humans that were fuelled by the culture and environment around them. In the early times, people used paintings to express what their surroundings were and how they lived. This is why historic paintings as old as 40,000 years show animals such as horses, lions, mammoth or humans hunting these animals. There are various cave paintings, which have been discovered all over the world in countries such as France, India, Portugal, China, Spain and recently in Indonesian on the Island of Sulawesi.

Various scientists have concluded that the techniques used by early artists comprised of slowly blowing paint around their hands, which were pressed tightly against the cave walls. They would use their fingers to shape the specific object they wanted to paint. These early paintings are the only recordings of pre-historic times of how people lived their lives. Without these images and paintings, scientists across the world would be unable to discover and determine the cultures and surroundings of these pre-historic individuals lived in.

The importance of understanding the history of painting is crucial because it lays the foundation on the humble beginnings of human intelligence. Such capabilities challenge our minds and let us create innovative ideologies. The ability to think about abstract concept and art makes our species significantly different from animals. Human intelligence has given rise to ideas such as how to create fire, how to fly, how to build modes of transport and other technological advancements. If we had not taken that extra step to explore and challenge the realms of our brain these ideologies would have been left undiscovered.

Therefore, such pre-historic art findings show how our species transformed into becoming humans. Many believed that the art influence came from Europe because historians discovered early signs of ancient cave art in Spain and southern France. Only recently have several American and Europeans scientists uncovered ancient paintings in Indonesian on the Island of Sulawesi.

Since then art and all forms of paintings have embarked on a historic journey, travelling from its ancient roots of prehistoric times, to Eastern paintings, which include paintings from cultures such as Chinese, Japanese, Indian and South Asian. It further travels onwards to Western painting, middle ages and finally towards the golden era of painting, the Renaissance and Mannerism age. During this age several famous painters such as Leonardo da Vinci, Paolo Uccello, Fra Angelico and many others came to recognition for their contribution to art.

It advanced into the Neo-classicism, Romanticism and Impressionism in the 18th and 19th centuries, which included the famous painting by Edvard Munch, The Scream. The history of painting has moved on to the 20th century, which introduced modern and contemporary art by well-known painters such as Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and many more. Throughout the 19th century, there was a display of art that was influenced by abstract expressionism, world conflicts, social consciousness and wars. In our current time, art has taken a completely new approach where modern artists introduce their own style and personality in their paintings.

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