Cultural Significance
Several painters were influenced by the Altamira cave paintings. Picasso is often quoted as having declared "after Altamira, all is decadence"; however, no source exists for this quote and there is no record of him ever visiting Altamira or any prehistoric cave.
Some of the polychrome paintings at Altamira Cave are well known in Spanish popular culture. The logo used by the autonomous government of Cantabria to promote tourism to the region is based on one of the bisons in this cave. Bisonte (Spanish for 'Bison'), a Spanish brand of cigarettes of the 20th century, also used a Paleolithic style bison figure along with its logo.
The Spanish comic character and series Altamiro de la Cueva, created in 1965, are a clear consequence of the fame of Altamira Cave. The comic series depicts the adventures of a group of prehistoric cavemen, shown as modern people, but dressed in pieces of fur, a bit like the Flintstones.
The song "The Caves of Altamira" appears on the 1976 album, The Royal Scam by jazz-rock band Steely Dan, later covered by soul group Perri.
The iconic bison image has been used for the cover of the poetry collection Songs for the Devil and Death by Scottish author Hal Duncan.
Read more about this topic: Cave Of Altamira
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