Scholars suspect that these fantastic drawings must have had some spiritual meaning surrounding the importance and success of the hunt. Perhaps they were associated with ceremony and prayer. We will never know their exact purpose, but the likely function of the cave paintings was probably religious.I'm a rather religious person, and I'm also an artist, and was an artist from birth. I can tell you with assurance that having the ability to see proportions and perspective clearly and draw realistic pictures as a result of that gift is not experienced as religious by the child so gifted. He or she might use the gift for spiritual purposes eventually, or even experience spiritual feelings while using the gift, but for the most part, it is like picking up a guitar if you are born musical -- you just do it because you can.
It is interesting to consider that art up until around 600 years ago had been dominated by religious subject matter. The use of art for art’s sake is relatively recent.Even a cursory examination of art--particularly Western art will require an encounter with paintings such as the one below: Rembrandt's "The Return of the Prodigal Son." And while art itself may not convert a soul, it can uplift the mind and heart to look above the immediacy of one's day to day realities. A tendency so desperately needed and called for in the modern world.
And on that note, *modern* art has spiritual meaning as well: as much of it forces to confront the nature of a reality where God is not central, or considered absent. It is worth noting, for example, the chaos, absurdity, and ugliness of much of art at the advent of the 20th Century as the Western world became enmeshed in World Wars 1 and 2. Civilization seemed to be going down the toilet. (See other work below.)
Both pieces of art beg the question: which reality do we prefer?
"Return of the Prodigal Son" - Rembrandt van Rijn 1669
"Fountain" - Marchel Duchamp 1917
