The History of ArtWhen we think of history, we don't often think of art. We don't realize how much art history can help us learn 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 provides insight into the changes and evolution that man and culture have gone through to become what they are 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 how it has evolved over time. The Great Ages consist of four distinct ages: the Stone Age, the Stone Age. New Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age. These four Great Ages are the complete history of art from the beginning to the present day. Each age is characteristically named based on the type of material used at 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 Ages began with the Ancient Stone Age which began at 100,000 BCE. People lived in tribes and clans and often moved from place to place, hunting and gathering to make 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 as they often believed they were one with the hunted animal. Chamens and shamemen, spiritual healers and seers between men and animal spirits, often led hunts and invoked 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, (Room of Bulls found at Lasacux, circa 15,000-13,000 BC. The largest bull is approximately 11'6" long), a beautiful cave painting of bulls. This shows how sacred these animals were to people. The painter took the time to not only paint such a true-to-nature image, but also deliberately place 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 shamans would perhaps use to communicate with the spirit of the animal Shamans were needed middle of paper.... .. next to the building and the stained glass windows mystically illuminated by the sun's rays 13-29 (Interior of Sainte-Chapelle), 13-33 (Saint Martin, Saint Jerome and Saint Gregory, c. 1220-1230, from. Porche des Confessors, Chartres Cathedral France.).The start of the Renaissance around 1500 CE is considered the beginning of the end of the 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 where private pleasure became the subject of art. Great artists like Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and Titian came 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 constitutes the very core of modern society. Societies dominated by men still exist, but little by little the demand for equality is changing the situation. During the Four Great Ages, much changed, much was lost, but time did not abruptly stop, nor did art; people, cultures and mindsets continue to grow and change, and.