In his text, Max Raphael indicates how these two forces contributed to the monumental realism of their animal paintings. He draws a clear distinction between ‘primitive’ and ‘prehistoric’ man, and demonstrates that all factors essential to a work of art are already to be found in the cave paintings. Having established the human hand as the painters’ main source of artistic measurement, particularly of those proportions centering around the golden section, the author reveals, in a detailed analysis, the meaning and composition of the famous ceiling at Altamira. The long and fascinating history of the paintings is illustrated by forty-eight reproductions from the Caves of Covalanas, Castillo, Hornos de la Pena, Pindal, Les Combarelles, and Font-de-Gaume. The work of one of Germany’s most eminent exiled scholars, ‘Prehistoric Cave Paintings’ reveals a new understanding of the dawn of European Civilization.
