The History of ArtWhen we think of history we often don't think of art. We don't realize how art history can help us learn more about the people, cultures, and belief systems of those who lived hundreds and thousands of years before us. Art has developed, influenced and contributed from the Great Stone Age to the present day. Art offers an insight into the changes and evolution that man and culture have gone through to become what it is today. Art is culture, art is the essence of the people who create it and the best way to appreciate art is to look at its history and its evolution over time. The Great Ages consist of four distinct eras: the Old Stone Age, the Stone Age. New Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age. These four Great Ages represent the complete history of art from its origins to the present day. Each age is characteristically named after the type of material used for that time. Stone was used in the Old and New Stone Ages, bronze in the Bronze Age, and iron in the Iron Age. The great centuries began with the Old Stone Age starting from 100,000 BC. People lived in tribes and clans and often moved from place to place, hunting and gathering for a living. They believed that all life was sacred and that all beings were divine, including animals. Tribal teachings taught that man and nature are one. Hunting and gathering was a sacred ritual because they often believed they were one with the hunted animal. Shamans and shamans, spiritual healers and seers among people and animal spirits, often led the hunt and summoned the spirit of the animal to which they asked the animal to willingly offer its life for a successful hunt. An illustration in Art Through the Ages, 1-4, (Hall of the Bulls found at Lasacux, c. 15,000-13,000 BC largest bull approximately 11'6" long) a beautiful cave painting of bulls. It shows how sacred these animals were to the people. The painter took the time to not only paint such a true-to-nature image, but also purposely placed it in a remote location, hundreds of feet above the entrance. The location of the painting suggests that it was used as a spiritual image that perhaps shamans would use to communicate with the spirit of the animal. Shamans were needed to t...... middle of paper...... ng next to the building and the stained glass windows which were mystically illuminated by the sun's rays. 13-29 (Interior of the Ste.-Chapelle), 13-33 (St. Martin, St. Jerome and St. Gregory, circa 1220-1230, from the Portico of the Confessors, Chartres Cathedral, France). the Renaissance around 1500 AD is considered the beginning of the Late Iron Age, which is still ongoing. The Renaissance was the age of Enlightenment, the rebirth of knowledge and culture, where men went beyond their abilities, where artists were considered geniuses and private pleasure became the object of art. Great artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and Titian emerged from the great Renaissance period; they were not only geniuses, but also great individual intellects, who defined the greatness of art. Individualism still prevails today and is the very core of modern society. Male-dominated societies still exist, but the demand for equality is slowly changing the situation. During the Four Great Ages, many things changed, many things were lost, but time did not stop abruptly, and neither did art; people, cultures and mindsets continue to grow and change, and with growth comes greatness.