The Panel of the Four Horses is one of the best known and evocative cave art or rock art compositions in the world. Painted by unknown artists more than 30,000 years ago the painting evokes emotion even across that huge gulf of time. We have just optimized a 3D model for Virtual Reality (metaverse) experience. One of the striking things about this painting is how the paleolithic artists used the canvas of the cave wall to bring the images to life. The model shows off that sophistication. Standing at different places along the wall of the Horse Panel yields very different views of the composition. The overwhelming skill and intention of the artist(s)is immediately apparent, and the state of preservation of the rock art panel is stunning.
The Government of France has sealed the cave for preservation’s sake, but you can see the panel in VR below (We also have VR a model of Chauvet’s Lion panel). The model runs well on a smart phone or computer. And it really shines in a VR headset like the Oculus.
The Panel of the Four Horses is truly one of the masterworks of art. Its discovery and dating put to rest any notion that paleolithic people were cognitively primitive.
The reproduction of Chauvet is included in our international art site recommendation list. For anyone wanting a deep dive into art of Chauvet we recommend the Google Arts and Culture Chauvet Pages.
There are a collection of very limited edition prints from Chauvet for sale here. Any sales help support the work of the Ancient Art Archive to preserve and share humanity’s oldest stories -rock art and cave art around the world.
