A Journey Into Cave Painting

The earliest wellsprings of art lie in Paleolithic cave painting. The oldest examples, from more than 30,000 years ago, are painted with mineral pigments, and today the latest digital technology is gradually unlocking their secrets. For example, the uneven surfaces of the walls of Lascaux Cave is being replicated in three dimensions, and the dynamic renderings on the walls of Chauvet Cave have been found to show similarities to contemporary animation. This project, realized with the cooperation of the French Ministry of Culture, features video imaging used for the Vallon-Pont-d’Arc Cave, the life-sized replica of the Chauvet Cave that opened in 2015, and Lascaux 4, the replica of the Lascaux Cave set to open at the end of 2016. It breathes new life into ancient images, enabling a dialogue across the depths of time.