“When was art first discovered?”
The first art that has been discovered by historians is prehistoric art, which includes objects and structures that were created by humans during the Stone Age. These include rock paintings, sculptures, and other types of visual expression that date back to as early as 30,000-40,000 years ago.
Prehistoric art was created by many cultures around the world and is an important part of the history of human art and creativity. It provides insight into the lives and beliefs of ancient peoples and serves as a record of their cultural achievements.
Learn more about this with our series “Art & Society”
Art is often used as a medium to convey messages and meaning, not just to entertain & delight. Artists play an important role in reflecting and commentating on the societies in which they live. But how does influence society?
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Mark Stevens & Annalyn Swan
Irish-born painter Francis Bacon was one of the most important artists of the 20th century, his raw, unsettling imagery emerging from some of the most traumatic events of the modern age. Who was he, as an artist and as a man?
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Dr. James Fox
Humans have always speculated about what a perfect world might look like, whether as a reward in the afterlife, part of an origin story like the Garden of Eden, or a real place on Earth. How do we see these ideas play out in the art we create?
James Birch
In 1988, art curator James Birch, travelled to Moscow to mount the ground-breaking Francis Bacon exhibition. How was Bacon perceived at the time & how did this exhibition change society?
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Dr. James Fox
The colour white has been associated with purity for millennia in religious iconography, architecture and art. But has it come to represent something darker too?
Explore talks about any category
Explore our library & save a seat at an upcoming live Garden Talk.Art & Entertainment
Take a wander through human imagination, creativity & the designed world around us
Geography & the World
Explore Planet Earth’s diverse environments & ecosystems, from rainforests to cities
History
Look back on key events, trends & people to shed new light on the world we live in today
Human Biology & Medicine
Focus your attention inwards to one of the most complex systems of all: the human body
Literature & Language
Immerse yourself in the world of words, written & spoken, from mythology to the media
Philosophy & Religion
Ask the knotty questions about knowledge, reality, existence, morality & what we believe
Psychology & Behaviour
Delve into what drives us as humans, from communication & memory to thought & emotion
Science & Nature
Journey through the natural world and the experiments & observations that illuminate it
Society & Politics
Examine the ties that bind us as communities and the customs & structures we create
Technology
Investigate the most exciting applications of the cutting edge of research & thinking
