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Mysterious rock depicted in 15th-century painting is most likely a Stone Age tool

https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/10/mysterious-rock-depicted-in-15th-century-painting-is-most-likely-a-stone-age-tool/

Why medieval painter Jean Fouquet chose to depict Acheulean hand ax remains a mystery.

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Dr_Decoy

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If I dust off the old Art History learnings, the Madonna would have been painted in a way that appeared other-worldly so as to separate her from what any mere mortal would identify as human. Said differently, Mary’s boobs have to be painted in a way that don’t look like human boobs so humans 1) don’t get lusty in church and 2) retain their awe of the story and its characters and thus maintain the Christian power structure.