As humans we are drawn to visual representation and perhaps we created images before we developed language skills. The latest film from Werner Herzog, Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010), gives us a rare glimpse at a pristine Paleolithic art gallery created some 35,000 years ago.
What is Chauvet Cave?
When Chauvet Cave was discovered in 1994 the French government wisely commandeered the cave and restricted access to this underground cathedral. Save for a few archaeologists and scientists Chauvet Cave is not available to the public. Part of what makes Cave of Forgotten Dreams so special is the access granted to filmmaker Werner Herzog.
One of the reasons Chauvet Cave is so miraculously preserved is that the front entrance sheered off and turned the entrance into a long, vertical drop. What has remained in Chauvet Cave is startling and truly awesome on many different levels.
Artwork of Chauvet Cave
The word primitive cannot be used to describe the drawings in Chauvet Cave. The exquisite line drawings of cave bears, bison, horses, and lions reveal the hand of confident artists and draftsmen.
Near the entrance of the cave is a wall of palm prints by the same artist who scientists have been able to identify by a tell-tale crooked pinky finger. The scientists have studied the wall of palm prints and have figured out that he began to paint the wall by crouching and finally by standing and that he would have been over six-feet tall. Deeper in the cave is another hand print left by the artist with a crooked finger.
I do wish there was more commentary on Chauvet Cave from an artist’s point of view. What materials did the artists use on the walls of Chauvet? Is it charcoal? What materials makes up the ochre palm prints? Is there evidence of erasing or over-painting on the walls? In observing the drawing and painting styles, can we speculate as to how many artists left their marks on the walls of Chauvet Cave? Is there evidence of practice drawings or sketches in Chauvet Cave? Were these artworks all painted with fingers, sticks, or a combination of materials?
Cave of Forgotten Dreams has some illuminating commentary by one of the archaeologists who suggests that in looking for meaning in Chauvet Cave that we seek out other cave and rock artists. He suggests that when these ancient artists worked perhaps they believed that their hands were guided by the spirit of the animal that they represented on the cave wall. Other scientists have speculated that drawing animals on the cave wall was a kind of hunting magic, that the drawings of animals were to magically invoke a better hunt to provide more meat. Others have speculated that the cave paintings were part of a spiritual ceremony or that they were used as a kind of Paleolithic cinema.
Another striking characteristic of Paleolithic art is the lack of human representation. In Chauvet Cave there is one partial drawing of a nude woman's body on a sturdy stalactite.
Contextual Evidence
Herzog does seek out archeological evidence from other nearby caves to find answers. One thing we know about Chauvet Cave is that humans did not live here. Cave bears and other animals did. Other caves have yielded important evidence of music within the caves, ivory flutes that would have sounded fabulous in the augmented acoustics of the rock cave. The other themes of the ancient caves are the rotund Venus figures meant to evoke fertility, abundance, and sex.
Film Analysis
I enjoyed the charming narration of Werner Herzog, an artist as curious and passionate about this rare opportunity as any archaeologist or scientist. Herzog's sweet accent reminds me of the narration of Jacques Cousteau, questioning and calming, guiding and gentle.
One of the problems with the film Cave of Forgotten Dreams is the limited access granted to Herzog. He is only allowed in with a team of four, with minimal lighting and the team has to stick to an elevated platform so as not to disturb the cave floor. The team also may only be in the cave for an hour at a time so that the breath of so many humans doesn’t create mold as it did at the other famous cave in Lascaux. (I’m really not complaining. I am glad the French government realizes the extreme significance of Chauvet and that they are limiting access so as to preserve this astonishing underground museum.)
I can’t help asking however that if more lighting could be brought in and if the artwork and cave walls could be better illuminated how many more secrets would be revealed? Already, there are enough clues for archaeologists and art historians to ponder over the course of a lifetime. Cave of Forgotten Secrets is a delicious film treat that may be enjoyed by the viewer for years to come.
p.s.-- Thank you Werner Herzog. I think I love you.
Mary Rayme - Mary Rayme is a graphic designer and arts educator with a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore.
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