Painting before 1300

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Prehistoric cave paintings required specific artistic skills, but they also served practical purposes. In fact, most paintings prior to 1300 C.E. were needed for a reason, such as to explain hunting techniques or religious ceremonies. An elaborately painted Egyptian tomb featuring a gilded mummy mask served primarily to facilitate the corpse's journey from life on earth to the hereafter. It was decorative, yet practical. Like the Egyptian tomb paintings, most ancient art was left on coffins, walls, wood, and pottery. Not until the Middle Ages (500-1500 C.E.) did anyone think to paint a canvas and frame it.

Most painters in the ancient world were craftsmen, similar to goldsmiths, and worked through a royal commission. They did not occupy the same place in society as today's artists, who are often considered daring freethinkers beholden to neither royal rules nor government conventions. In the past, those in charge, rather than the artists themselves, often determined artistic styles.