Masterpiece: Yellow Horse at the Lascaux Caves
Keywords:
Grade:
Month:
Activity:
Art
Kindergarten
February
Stone Age Art
Background of the Lascaux Caves in
France:
In 1937, a cave was accidentally found by four teenage boys and their dog.
The children were playing fetch with the dog. The ball they were throwing
was accidentally thrown into a complex underground cave. Looking for the
ball in this cave, they found wonderful cave paintings on the walls. These
walls had drawings of animals, people, and handprints on them. People believe
this is the beginning of art since some of these caves that have been found
are 15,000 years old. Scientists believe that the handprints were their
signatures.
Possible Questions and Discussion:
 What is ART?
Humans have always created ART. Show prints of cave paintings
through modern art from the portfolio or have examples of other
forms of art to show such as picture books, photography, quilts,
sculpture.
 Why is there ART and why would people draw thousands of years ago?
People who create art are called ARTISTS. Artists create art to
express themselves or to show their feelings and ideas, to record
events or to satisfy their creative spirit. The artists who made the
drawings in the cave could not read nor did they have a written
language. These artists may have believed that by drawing these
animals they would be successful in hunting them or maybe they just
valued and loved these animals and drew them to honor their beauty.
 What makes a piece of ART? Briefly introduce the basics.
Color – three colors: red, yellow and blue are mixed to make all the
other colors of the rainbow.
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Composition – this is how an artist arranges the people or objects in
their picture.
Shape - An artist uses all types of lines to make shapes such as
circles and squares.
Pattern – an artist uses different shapes and lines to make us want to
look at their picture.
Texture – an artist can make us see how something feels to touch by
using different lines and patterns in their picture.
What colors did the cave artists used? (black, brown, gray, yellow,
orange-earth colors)
What do you think the cave artists were trying to say on these walls?
What do you think the surface of a cave wall feels like?
Activity:
Modern day Cave Painter
Supplies needed: brown paper bags, black and white tempera paint (each
diluted with water), brushes, earth toned chalk, bowls for water, hairspray
(as a fixative for the chalk), small cups for paint, newspaper and smocks
Process:
1. Cover desks with newspaper, give each child a brown paper bag and
paint brush. Put on each work station, cups of water, small cups
with small amount of black and white tempera paint in each, and
chalk.
2. Tear open the brown paper bags so they can lie flat on the desk.
Uneven edges are great. Have them rumple it up and smooth it out
again. This is “their” cave wall to paint on.
3. Starting with black paint, have them draw the body of an animal.
An oval is perfect, tell them like a jelly bean. Have them add neck,
head, legs, horns, tails, etc.
4. Have them fill in the animal with chalk.
5. Fill the background with simple designs or handprint (see #6) and
let it dry.
6. If the animal is too difficult for some, the child may create their
hand print(s) with the help of a teacher or volunteer. This can be
done in two different ways: 1) have the child place their hand on
the paper and using a chalk, trace around their hand and fill in the
hand print using another color of chalk. OR- 2) have the child paint
their hand with the black or white paint and press it on the paper.
Let dry.
7. Once the paint is dry, spray it with hairspray. Explain to the
children that this helps keep the chalk on the paper.
Art Masterpiece – Kindergarten- Yellow Horse at the Lascaux Caves –
January
Today, your kindergartner participated in Art
Masterpiece and learned about the print Yellow Horse. In
1940, the Lascaux Cave was accidentally found by
children and their dog. The children were playing fetch
with the dog. The ball they were throwing was
accidentally thrown into a complex underground cave.
Looking for the ball in this cave, they found wonderful
cave paintings on the walls. These walls had drawings of
animals, people, and handprints on them. People believe
this is the beginning of art since some of these caves that
have been found are 30,000 years old. Your child had a chance to create their own cave
art using this paper bag as their “cave”. Take a minute to talk to them about their animal
design.
Art Masterpiece – Kindergarten- Yellow Horse at the Lascaux Caves –
January
Today, your kindergartner participated in Art
Masterpiece and learned about the print Yellow Horse. In
1940, the Lascaux Cave was accidentally found by
children and their dog. The children were playing fetch
with the dog. The ball they were throwing was
accidentally thrown into a complex underground cave.
Looking for the ball in this cave, they found wonderful
cave paintings on the walls. These walls had drawings of
animals, people, and handprints on them. People believe
this is the beginning of art since some of these caves that
have been found are 30,000 years old. Your child had a chance to create their own cave
art using this paper bag as their “cave”. Take a minute to talk to them about their animal
design.
More Cave Paintings From The Lascaux Caves