The authentic and the acquired in graphic art, philosophically and cognitively

Abstract

The starting point of the graphic art goes back thousands of years, as it begins with Neanderthal who found by chance that the sole of his bare foot when walking leaves behind a footprint similar to that of his foot. This was the first beginning of his acquaintance with printing, later on Neanderthal started drawing his concerns and thoughts, before discovering writing, so he left drawings on the walls of Paleolithic caves. It was carried out with an innate motive as an urgent desire to record his daily life, and one of the oldest topics that the cave painter implemented was also the shapes of human palm. It was found in the Fonte de Salen cave, located in San Vicente, in the northern part of Spain, and its date is likely to be around 22,000 BC. What distinguishes this cave is its uniqueness with scenes of palm prints only. The beauty represented in nature is an authentic beauty. As for the acquired beauty, it depends on handicraft and artistic skill. The acquired beauty may overlap with the authentic beauty, but they do not coincide, like drawing nature doesn’t convey its actual reality. As the acquired beauty that appears from the artist’s creativity and creative effort is acquired by itself, while the natural beauty that represents reality is authentic. Therefore, the topic of the research came to be(the authentic and the acquired in graphic art, philosophically and cognitively), and this research includes our chapters:-