Themes > Arts > Painting > Painting Principles and Techniques

The cave paintings were made nearly 15 000 years ago in the late paleolithic period. They depict animals which lived during the ice age. Apart from a horse and several 'hind' or female deer, mainly bison can be seen, along with a number of abstract figures. The paintings were made using natural pigments such as yellow, red and brownish ochres as well as black manganese earth and charcoal. In places, they are engraved into the rock. For the bison in particular, the colours are gradated into such a vast array of shades that the creatures appear three-dimensional and amazingly realistic. The bison which are lying down are painted on naturally occurring folds in the rock and function as both paintings and reliefs.

Information provided by: http://www.deutsches-museum.de