Contribution of the SupportFrom a very early stage, studies of parietal art drew attention to the particular treatment of certain figures, which ostensibly look rough but are in fact completed by the integration of the natural relief or unevenness of the rock, the shapes of which suggest the missing parts of the body. [48] In many caves, there is a lot of potential for natural forms to be transformed into animal or human representations, but the number of figures constructed in this way remains limited. While the direct participation of the wall in an outline is marginal, it may play a major role under certain circumstances. This use of the natural surroundings can occur on various scales, from taking into account a single contour that evokes a simple anatomical form, to including the multiple forms of galleries or halls, which then determine the construction of pictorial compositions.
Lascaux's lack of classic concretions, such as stalactites, flows or curtains, may partially explain the limited number of examples observed. Indeed, concretions only rarely take on large enough dimensions for the realization of animals and are often limited to a simple encrustation a few millimetres thick. Furthermore, the rock often does not have an accentuated relief or pronounced fissures. Only the scars of flakes along the junctions of strata attracted Palaeolithic man's attention.
The wall and its contours could be used in a number of ways: as a simple component in a work, as the substitute for one or another of its elements or even to suggest a guideline to the artist. The natural component brings a supplementary dimension to the interpretation of the relief. The eye of the yellow stag (frieze of the Small Stags, Hall of the Bulls) is one example, created from a calcite growth some fifteen millimetres in diameter (ill. 173).
173 The involvement of the background relief can affect only a single anatomical part, as in the case of the yellow stag (the frieze of the Small Stags, Hall of the Bulls), in which the eye is replaced by a calcite growth.The use of the contours of the wall as a guideline is the most widespread procedure. Palaeolithic man used this method in the Hall of the Bulls, on the yellow stag. The stag's bez tines and forehead follow the ridge of a concavity, projecting the image of the animal into the foreground. This hollow formation is also used to give form to the hindquarters of the red stag immediately in front. The brown horse above the frieze of the Small Stags has the same characteristics. Only its head, neck and back have been drawn, and the arc formed by the upper line follows the natural curve created by the exfoliation of the support. Nonetheless, the structural line of this animal only partly follows the discontinuity, over a few decimetres. The way in which the bend radius of the edge of the flake increases towards the front of the horse clearly did not suit the artist. It would have required moving the head and neck too close to the upper edge of the panel, or indeed crossing its limits.
174 The line of the ground, shown by a deep natural ledge on the wall, falls back behind the forelimbs of this horse in the panel of the Great Black Bull, Axial Gallery, suggesting that the animal is falling.Sometimes a relief is substituted for a marking in order to represent an important surface of the subject. In this case the outlines obtained for the animal tend to merge with those of the peripheral contours (ill. 172). The horse above the Hemione contains only a single painted element, a very elongated yellow patch, inclined at 40º, which maintains a constant width over the first 30 centimetres, then flares into a sub-triangular shape. The interpretation of the figure is simplified by the proximity of a field of colour, in form analogous to that which traces the lower line of the neck of the Hemione. The painting technique is identical, in the treatment and the placement of the stencil and in the orientation and inclination of the drawing. The upper line of the panel, which is highlighted by lateral lighting, allows us to understand the work because it sketches the neck, the line of the back and the croup without interruption. Furthermote, the specific morphology of the wall suggests the presence of the tail and the beginning of a hindlimb. Two cervids in the frieze of the Small Stags were constructed using the same principle. They have anatomical parts borrowed from the negatives of flakes, the head and the antlers for the stag on the left, the entire body, neck and head for the one on the tight. This suppresses the subject, projecting it into the second plane.
On the smaller surfaces, from a few centimetres to a metre, the association of markings and the forms of the wall sometimes evokes the line of the ground. This occurs repeatedly at Lascaux (Hall of the Bulls, the panel of the Great Black Cow in the Nave, the Great Black Bull in the Axial Gallery). The line of the ground is here formed by a stratigraphic discontinuity, followed underneath by a reversion of the wall to the front. This so-called exogenous formation, in the sense that it does not participate directly in the outline of the animal figure, plays a role only in the positioning of the figures.
Careful observation allowed us to recognize other, admittedly less obvious, applications of this principle, the primary function of which is to accompany the animation given to certain figures. These examples are located in the same place, around the Upside-down Horse. At the left of this panel and at the beginning of the locality the Galloping Horse is seen behind the Great Black Bull (ill. 174). Its limbs, at their maximum extension, do not all rest on a horizontal line; only the hindlimbs test on a discontinuity of the surface, that is on a deep incision bordered at its base by a ridge of the wall. This fissure, which begins 50 centimetres behind the animal, is interrupted below the chest, while the two forelimbs extend beyond it. The slight inclination of the horse towards the front, around 15°, suggests the beginning of a falling motion, an impression confirmed by the very localized absence of the line of the ground beneath the front part of the animal.
The Falling Cow is on the facing wall, dominating a long procession of small horses. It has many similarities with the previous subject: the use of the same colours, the very precise reproduction of the outlines, the care taken over numerous details and the similar animation, all of which allow the two works to be attributed to the same artist. The twisting motion given to the hindquarters of the bovine and the position of the hindlimbs, gathered up under the belly, show that the cow is falling. The raised head, with the forehead painted horizontally as an extension of the line of the back, reinforces the suggestion of instability. This cow is partly twisted into the hollow of a large horizontal depression, the lower edge of which follows the contours of the croup, the belly and the chest. The outstretched forelimbs extend beyond this hollow to simulate the absence of the ground. These examples show the use of natural forms for an identical goal, but a hollow was used for the horse and a projection for the aurochs.
The third example is the Upside-down Horse (ill. 175), whose fall is indicated by the vertical orientation of the body. The line of the back and the croup follow a projection of the wall over a double gradient forwards and to the right. The animal was painted in the convex part of a meander, which is a distinctive feature given the generally straight alignment of the gallery. The base of this false buttress lies 40 centimetres above the floor of the gallery. The relief has been used in two ways: to accompany the line of the back and to suggest emptiness through the marked discontinuity at the base of the panel.
The narrowing of the gallery at the threshold makes the morphology of the entrance to the locality of the Upside- own Horse look like a gaping chasm. This constriction is marked on both sides by broad red stains. The topography of the location places the Upside-down Horse close to the two above-mentioned figures to each side of the gallery on the final panels before the locality. These three works, located within a limited area, are commonly treated separately, because they are on different panels. However, several arguments suggest that they are related: they show the same animation, and the morphologically different but functionally identical natural elements were taken into account. Such commonalities enable us to envisage real connections between these three animals.
In the course of this relative study of the use of the wall, it is important to remember the role played by natural elements in the representation of the third dimension. Thus, a natural concavity may, under certain angles of illumination, paradoxically evoke a convexity suitable for the outline of the flank of an equid or a bovine. The outlines of the Red Cow with the Black Collar, for example, are associated with elements of the relief: the belly lies in a very large concavity, which is brought out by oblique lighting. The outlines of the croup and the hindlimbs of the red stag between the first bull and the black and yellow cervid in the Hall of the Bulls are simulated by an oblong concavity that prolongs the silhouette.
The wall support is also an important influence on the structuration of the panels, nor only on the individual animals but, in most cases, the graphic compositions as a whole. From this point of view, it forms one of the major constituents of the art of Lascaux and plays a fundamental role in the spatial organization of the works. To some extent, the structure and the type of available surfaces have dictated the structure of the panels without influencing their themes or their composition. Certain morphological or chromatic variations of the walls, or indeed the two combined, playa decisive role.
175 The false pillar, around which is wound the figure of the Upside-down Horse, Axial Gallery, is not attached to the floor. The void suggested by this feature contributes to the falling motion of this figure.The heterogeneity of the different stratigraphic units of the wall generates specific patterns in the sections of the galleries. These are caused by differences in the hardness of the rock and the ways in which the cave was cut. As a result, there are ridges, faults, platforms and recesses all over the walls. The horizontality of the strata creates regular and unbroken forms within the same space. They can also lead to architectural similarities between one hall and the next, such as those observed in the Hall of the Bulls, the Apse and the Nave. The most appropriate surfaces and levels are exploited. Equally, the lines marking the transition between these geological formations will be perceived as lines of structure. Their forms are generally ridges, due to the juxtaposition of concavities or the superimposition of layers. Examples of lines created on the basis of localized concretions are rare. This participation of the support can be reinforced by changes in its colour. The decorated band of the Hall of the Bulls extends between a ridge running along the top and a projecting formation below. This change of level is accentuated by a difference in colour which develops from a slightly stained white to a very pronounced brown.
Access to the WallsOpening the site to the public necessitated modifications to the underground space. The floors were heavily altered. Mounds of clay covering the bottom of the ledges in the Hall of the Bulls were removed, at the same time increasing the distance to the parietal works. It was the same in the Passageway, which was originally very low. Today, a trench more than 1 metre deep and 2 metres wide impinges on the centre of this gallery. Beyond this, the front part of the Apse and, to a lesser extent, the back of this hall were emptied, in order to facilitate access to the Shaft. The Nave suffered an identical fate in order to give the passage a less pronounced slope. These modifications made it more difficult to access some of the walls, particularly where Palaeolithic man had resorted to the use of scaffolding in the first place.
These problems of access were not encountered in the Passageway, the Shaft or the Chamber of the Felines, where the decorated surfaces are all located less than 1.5 metres from the floor. In the Apse, however, some of the engraved and painted figures are quite some distance from the observer. After the discovery, as we have mentioned, the floor was lowered between 1 and 1.5 metres over the entire area of the hall. Before the alterations, almost all the works were therefore within arm's reach. Only the large stag located below the intersection and the figures of the vault required extra equipment in order to gain access. In the Nave, the artists profited from the proximity of the wall in the case of three panels, the Ibexes, the Imprint and the Crossed Bison. Between the latter two compositions would be inserted that of the Great Black Cow, with its long procession of horses extending over 7 metres. Between the two ends, the floor level drops significantly. A horizontal shelf underlines this panel, a platform of irregular width, ranging from 50 centimetres at the near and far ends to 1 metre in the centre. The three-dimensional nature and the scale of this long fresco showed us that the artist stood on this narrow edge without the use of scaffolding in order to execute all the figures. On the facing wall, only the frieze of the Swimming Stags was drawn. This group of aligned figures noticeably follows the slope of the floor. Here and there, short, more or less sloping ledges give purchase, a particular feature of this wall that enabled the artist to dispense with any form of structure. In the same space there are long incised lines at the base of the domes of the ceiling, at an inaccessible level. We have not been able to discern any shape in this lattice of lines. The inaccessibility of these surfaces and the random nature of the marks make us think they were drawn with the help of sticks held at arm's length, as the rock is soft enough here to be marked without too much pressure.
These problems of access have been discussed since the first studies of Lascaux, and the placement of the painted figures on the underside of the ceilings of the Hall of the Bulls and the Axial Gallery has been the subject of numerous investigations. Andre Glory [49] provided the first answers, claiming to have 'identified, on the sides of the Axial Gallery, the stalagmite encrusted placement of interlocked beams which were used in the painting of the Great Black Bull'. However, the calcification of the clay deposits occurred much earlier than the passage of man. This is demonstrated by the markings painted on top of these formations, in particular the hooves of the Great Black Bull or those of the aurochs of the Hall of the Bulls. If the carbonates had been deposited later than the markings, the paintings would have shown this. The identification of imprints of the ends of beams in certain cavities or on ledges was a result of a poorly argued hypothesis.
176 The outlines of the fifth bull of the Hall of the Bulls have been executed using two techniques: the front parts were sprayed with pulverized pigment, while a brush was used for the less accessible segments. The entrance to the Passageway opens beneath the hindlimbs.177 At the height of the line of the belly of the fifth bull in the Hall of the Bulls, the transition marking the change of technique is immediate.On the other hand, the excavations carried out by Glory did bring to light many fragments of charcoal, distributed in all the archaeological layers (end of the Axial Gallery, the Shaft and the Passageway). The identification of the wood revealed the presence of deciduous oak. and juniper and, in smaller proportions, pine, birch, alder and hazel. Most of the fragments had narrow tree rings, particularly those of juniper, some pieces of which were recovered from the lamps where they functioned as a wick. On the other hand, the oak and the pine had growth rings with a greater radius of curvature, showing that wooden elements with larger diameters were brought into the cave, possibly to construct equipment with which to access the walls, but also to feed the hearths used for lighting.
Claude Barriere and Ali Sahly conducted many studies on this subject. [50] In the Axial Gallery they noted the presence of a series of small cavities and ledges, spaced more or less regularly and located on both sides of the gallery, at the height of the lower level, which might have served as scaffolding holes. Furthermore, they recorded imprints of timber on the argillaceous ledge underlying the frieze of the Small Horses of the panel of the Falling Cow, possibly showing the use of such wooden structures.
In fact, the hypothesis that scaffolding was used in this gallery cannot be dismissed. In the first third of the Axial Gallery, the absence of ledges on which Palaeolithic people could have climbed in order to reach an adequate height implies the positioning of such constructions, since here the painted works are located between 3 and 4 metres above the ancient floor. In the publication directed by Arlette Leroi-Gourhan and Jacques Allain, a chapter is dedicated to this theme. [51] The authors discuss the same observations, extending the principle to the entire Axial Gallery, despite the absence of relevant evidence. Although it appears quite possible that scaffolding was used, this does not mean that the principle can be extrapolated generally: the technical analysis of certain paintings confirms this.
178 Transverse sections of the gallery at the level of the Great Black Bull, Axial Gallery. Note the absence of a ledge in the section of wall traversing the rear part of the aurochs.
In the Hall of the Bulls, the problem applies to a section of the works. The cross section of this hall presents an overhang at a mean angle of 60° relative to the vertical. The figures close to its upper border are therefore displaced towards the central part of the hall, in such a way that they were executed on the ceiling rather than on a wall. For most of them, the artist could dispense with scaffolding with a simple change of technique, by extending his reach: for example, by using a brush with a longer handle. As for the sprayed figures, it was absolutely necessary to be as close to the wall as possible, in particular for the bichrome horse and the brown horse on the left wall. The respective dimensions of these two figures are sufficiently modest that the artist did not have to change his position much during the course of his work. The use of a small wooden structure placed below the figures gave him easier access to the wall. Furthermore, the use of surfaces towards the middle of the gallery ruled our any abutting against the wall. These observations suggest that small wooden structures, which can perhaps be compared to stools, were used only very intermittently, when the painting instruments had reached their limits.
Another illustration of the interdependence between the artist and the wall is given by the fifth bull of the Hall of the Bulls. This is a drawing in which only the outlines of the muzzle, the chest, the forelimbs and part of the line of the belly have been traced by spraying, whereas the hindquarters and the upper line were drawn with a brush (ill. 176). Those of the withers, the head and the horns were executed by a juxtaposition of connected dots, from 2 to 3 centimetres in diameter, which gives a greater precision to the alignment of the lines and thus permits a more accomplished outline. The particularly clear technical break is seen at the height of the line of the belly (ill. 177). The sprayed part is interrupted two thirds of the way along the curve, where it is replaced by a section drawn with a brush. The origin of these changes can be traced in constraints in the morphology of the gallery: the ledge of the wall, upon which it is possible to climb in order to be at the desired height, only underlies the left part of the figure. On the right, the opening of the Passageway lies below, impeding access to the wall. Moreover, the strong overhang, which extends across the entire useable surface, from the edge to the centre of the Hall of the Bulls, distances this from the ridge at the base of the wall. Access to the upper level is thus only possible with the use of brushes or pads at the end of a handle long enough to execute the outlines of this very large figure.
179 Two graphic techniques were necessary to complete the Great Black Bull, Axial Gallery. The head and two thirds of the body were sprayed, while a brush was used for the upper part and the tail. This procedure is primarily dependent upon constraints of access to the walls.In the Axial Gallery, the base of the panel of the Great Black Bull lies some 1.9 metres above the level of the floor (ill. 179). Two techniques were used for this second large representation. Whereas the lower two thirds of the figure were executed by spraying, the upper line, the top of the head, the horns and the tail have been traced with a brush. This was once interpreted as repainting, even as an episode at a later period. Closer examination reveals that this change occurs as a curve extending from the poll and crossing the middle of the thigh. On the other hand, the cross section of the ledge below the animal is at an angle (ill. 178), which renders the shelf broader at the front of the animal than at its right extremity, where the space available to stand upright diminishes significantly before disappearing altogether. These two observations reveal that the part created by spraying is found at the level of a man perched on the ledge. Beyond this point, the artist, unable to continue using this technique, executed his line with a brush, artificially increasing his field of action. The use of scaffolding was thus unnecessary.
The same panel shows a second example of the same sort. Behind the Great Black Bull are the incomplete outlines of a female aurochs overlying the left hindlimb (ill. 180). Its partial character (only the forequarters were painted) is related, above all, to the morphology of the wall. The ledge is interrupted at the level of the forelimbs of the bovine. Looking at the orientation of the sprayed pigments says a lot about the position of the artist. From the head to the neck the axis of spraying remains perpendicular to the wall, but becomes increasingly inclined moving towards the back, which must have brought the artist very close to the wall. The density of the pigment decreases from the chest to the right edge of the flank due to the growing masking effect of the microstructures of the wall. Beyond the clearly incomplete field of colour a weak angular brush stroke gives form to the section formed by the line of the belly and the beginning of the left hindlimb. This final addition demonstrates the impossibility of access to this zone, despite the evident wish to complete the drawing.
These observations show that the realization of a work or composition was largely determined by the morphology of the support, which sometimes forced a change of technique. The artists knew how to adapt themselves to situations and how to make the best possible use of them.
180 The decrease in colour intensity observed on the right section of the coat of this cow, in the panel of the Great Black Bull (Axial Gallery), was caused by the way in which the artist sprayed the pigments. In the absence of a step, which could have provided access to this figure, the further away the surface is from the standpoint, the shallower the angle of projection of the pigment. Correspondingly, the pigments have been spread more thinly - hence this clear fading.