Last week I saw something very special that I’d like to share with you. I was leading the art program at Perigord Retreats and our wonderful host, Harrison took us on daily trips to fascinating medieval towns and chateaus in the area. Last Monday we were treated to two memorable excursions.
(Would you like to come along with us on a retreat in an inspiring location? Have a look at plans for 2026 here, Italy in April has now sold out)
We travelled along the countryside of the Lot region as the landscape changed from lush green trees to a drier territory with many rocky outcrops and hills. We stopped by a very pretty town called Saint-Cirq-Lapopie to wonder around and do some sketching, and after our picnic lunch we continued on to the Pech Merle caves where we were guided deep underground.
This place is the ultimate example of how art transcends time, with masterpieces created by artists from the Ice Age, over 20,000 years ago, and preserved in their original, breathtaking setting. The incredible artworks of mammoths, reindeer and horses and even traces of a fish are all drawn or inscribed on the limestone cave walls.
The story of how these ancient treasures were discovered in 1922 is also fascinating. Three teenagers from the village of Cabrerets were doing what curious young people do. Marthe David (then 13), her brother André (16) and friend Henri Dutertre (15), had been exploring the local caves for two years encouraged and assisted by Father Amedee Lemozi, the curator of Cabrerets and an amateur archaeologist who had discovered other cave paintings in the region. Whilst the well trodden upper levels showed no signs of prehistoric life, these determined adventurers ventured deeper into the lower galleries. What they discovered there had been waiting in the darkness for millennia. Father Amédée immediately began to study their find and by 1926 the caves were welcoming visitors to witness this incredible legacy.
The artworks they uncovered are simply extraordinary and the depictions on the curved cave walls in black and earth pigments feel surprisingly sophisticated, especially considering they were created somewhere between 20,000 and 29,000 years ago.
I was struck by the way the animals are depicted with the drawn lines strong and clear. The famous Dappled Horses with their heavier outlines and dotted shapes are iconic and striking. The dotted patterns remain a mystery - could they be markings on the animals similar to Appaloosa horses or possibly a celestial impression? The sky here at night is peppered with bright stars, imagine what it would have looked like many thousands of years ago!
We can only speculate what the creators of these artworks were thinking but to me this says something about a timeless human need to create and to express.
Entrance to Pech Merle is by reservation only with strict limits on visitor numbers. Nevertheless, it’s incredible that we can still visit and experience this art entirely in its original setting. The opportunity to stand in the presence of authentic Palaeolithic art and to feel that connection across thousands of years is something that has made a very deep impression on me.
Read more about Pech Merle here and here. There’s a video in French that shows the artworks here.
‘Dappled Horses’, prehistoric paints, hand stencils and rock, Artists unknown, ~23,000BC
Colour Combination
The colours this week are Iron Oxide, Limestone, Burnt Umber & Yellow Ochre. Use the colours along with a contrasting dark and neutral light colour if you wish. Create an artwork in any medium or style.
I love seeing what you create. If you’re posting on Instagram, please tag #coloricombo and #estemacleod and join us in the private Facebook group Creative Prompts.
Explore Abstracts I
Offered for a final time, this runs as a ‘live’ scheduled course from 6 October to 16 November and registration is open. Find out everything you need to know about it here.
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