THE CAVE PAINTERS: PROBING THE MYSTERIES OF THE WORLD'S FIRST ARTISTS, Gregory Curtis, Alfred A. Knopf, 278 pages, $25

Remember college art history class and the color slides your professor showed of prehistoric cave paintings found in Spain and France? The bold animal figures thundering across the caves' ceilings and walls were exquisite.

Dated from between 15,000 and 40,000 BCE (before common era), it still seems incredible that early man was capable of producing such amazing works, images that, according to the book's author, Gregory Curtis, stand head to head with the art of modern man.

In substantiating his claim, Curtis quotes Picasso, who, when emerging from the caves in Lascaux, France, said, "We have learned nothing in 12,000 years."

The history of cave painting discoveries is the subject of the book, but it is the lives of the archaeologists and art historians who made the discoveries, their journeys, setbacks, idiosyncrasies, theories and problems that make the book such a fascinating read.

At the book's conclusion, Curtis thoughtfully and honestly admits that no one knows why these paintings were made.

"There is still no grand theory of what the cave paintings mean. That is frustrating for scientists and amateurs alike, since as works of art the paintings communicate directly and supremely well. Whatever cultural reasons prompted the ancient hunters to paint in caves, the great artists among them — and there were many — took the trouble to create paintings that had graceful lines, subtle color, precise perspective, and a physical sense of volume. The cave painters may or may not have had the idea of art as we understand it, but when they chose to draw an appealing line instead of an awkward one, they were thinking and acting like artists trying to create art in our sense of the word."

An added attraction to the book is 20 black-and-white illustrations and photographs, as well as an eight-page color insert. These images help those readers unfamiliar with prehistoric cave paintings to visualize what caused such a stir when they were discovered.

For those adhering strictly to biblical dates for the appearance of the first man, "The Cave Painters" will be objectionable. For more moderate thinkers, the book will be a delightful and informative read, and will, perhaps, assist them in developing their own theory of why the paintings were made.

---

E-mail: gag@desnews.com