Art of Europe

The art of Europe, often called Western art, covers the full story of visual art made in Europe. It began with portable rock art, cave paintings, and carvings from the Upper Paleolithic era, continuing through the Stone Age into the Iron Age. Written records of European art typically start with the Aegean civilizations around the 3rd millennium BC, but a clear, connected artistic tradition only emerges with Ancient Greek art. The Romans adopted and changed this Greek style, then spread it across much of Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia through their empire.

Over the next two thousand years, the influence of Classical art came and went. It faded into the background during parts of the Medieval period, returned strongly in the Renaissance, went through what some early historians called a "decay" in the Baroque era, reappeared in a polished form during Neoclassicism, and was revived again in Postmodernism.

Before the 1800s, the Christian church was the main force behind European art, providing most of the work for artists. At the same time, there was a growing interest in classical myths, great wars, heroes, and non-religious subjects. In the last 200 years, most art has been made without religious ties and often without any specific ideology, though political issues—whether reflecting the concerns of patrons or the artists themselves—have frequently shaped it.

European art is grouped into many stylistic periods that often overlap as different styles thrived in different regions. The main periods are: Classical, Byzantine, Medieval, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Neoclassical, Modern, Postmodern, and New European Painting.

**Prehistoric art**

European prehistoric art is a key part of the continent’s cultural heritage. It is usually divided into four periods: Stone Age, Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Iron Age. Most surviving works from this time are small sculptures and cave paintings.

Many prehistoric pieces are small, portable sculptures. A notable group is the female Venus figurines, like the Venus of Willendorf (24,000–22,000 BC), found across central Europe. The 30 cm tall Löwenmensch figurine from about 30,000 BCE stands out because few similar pieces exist. The Swimming Reindeer, from around 11,000 BCE, is one of the finest Magdalenian carvings in bone or antler, though engraved pieces—sometimes considered sculpture—are more common. Figurative sculpture became much rarer in the Mesolithic and remained less common than decorated practical objects until Roman times, despite exceptions like the Gundestrup cauldron from the Iron Age and the Bronze Age Trundholm sun chariot.

The oldest European cave art is 40,800 years old, found in El Castillo Cave in Spain. Other cave painting sites include Lascaux, Altamira, Grotte de Cussac, Pech Merle, Niaux, Chauvet, Font-de-Gaume, Creswell Crags in England (where cave etchings and bas-reliefs were discovered in 2003), Coliboaia cave in Romania (the oldest cave painting in central Europe), and Magura in Bulgaria. Rock paintings were also made on cliff faces, but fewer survive due to erosion; one well-known example is the Astuvansalmi rock paintings in Finland. When Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola first saw the Magdalenian paintings in Altamira, Spain, in 1879, scholars thought they were fakes. Later studies and many new discoveries proved they were genuine, sparking greater interest in Upper Paleolithic artistry. These cave paintings, made with basic tools, offer valuable insights into the culture and beliefs of that time.

The Rock art of the Iberian Mediterranean Basin shows a very different style, focusing on human figures often shown in large groups—battling, dancing, hunting—along with details like clothing. The figures are painted sketchily in thin paint, with more attention to the relationships between groups than to individual figures. Other, smaller groups of rock art, many engraved rather than painted, share similar traits. These Iberian examples likely span the Upper Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and early Neolithic.

Prehistoric Celtic art comes mostly from the Iron Age in Europe and survives mainly as high-quality metalwork, decorated with complex, elegant, mostly abstract designs featuring curves and spirals. Human heads and some full animals appear, but full-length human figures are so rare that their absence may reflect a religious taboo. This style nearly vanished as the Romans conquered Celtic lands, but it continued in limited use in the British Isles. With the arrival of Christianity, it was revived there in the Insular style of the Early Middle Ages.

**Ancient**

**Minoan**

The Minoan civilization on Crete is considered the oldest in Europe. Minoan art is known for imaginative images and exceptional skill. Sinclair Hood described its "essential quality" as the ability to create a sense of movement and life while following strict formal conventions. It is part of the larger Aegean art group and, in later periods, strongly influenced Cycladic art. Wood and textiles have decomposed.