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Decorating walls with pictures is nothing new and has been practised for
centuries. The earliest known European cave paintings have been dated as
over 30,000 years old. Their purpose is uncertain: they were probably not
merely decorative but possibly for communication purposes or religious
ceremonies. More recent wall art – or rather ceiling art – and arguably the
most famous is Michelangelo’s “The Creation of Adam”, the vast fresco
created between 1508 and 1512 on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the
Vatican City. The wall art shown here is not as mysterious as cave paintings
nor as famous, extensive or ornate as Michelangelo’s masterpiece, nor are
they all painted directly on walls. Nevertheless they all serve to brighten
up our day, to make dull walls more interesting and appealing and in some
cases impart a useful message. |
