The idea of "prehistory" is a modern idea, invented in the 19th century. Discovered thanks to its materiality (fossils, geological layers, artifacts ...), it raises perplexity and fascination in the modern era. Prehistoric discoveries are photographed, molded and reproduced countless times in publications, interfering in the popular imagination to inspire and question artists of the 20th and 21st century. Thus, the awareness of an artistic activity then the recognition of a parietal art haunt the greatest artists: Picasso, Miró but also Cézanne, Klee, Giacometti, Ernst, Beuys, Klein, Dubuffet, Smithson, Penone, Tacita Dean , Chirico, Moore, Nash, etc.

The exhibition will show how contemporary artists view prehistory as an object of fascination, "as a subject", but also as a model for artistic experimentation. Thus will be exposed many modern and contemporary works inspired by the discoveries and the prehistoric imagination. On the other hand, exceptional pieces, icons of the Paleolithic and the Neolithic, will be witnesses of the prehistoric periods. Finally, prehistory will also be evoked as a historical, anthropological and artistic discipline, through a large body of documents.

These three axes intersect in a catalog structured in 8 sections: the cave, the cave, the beasts and the men, etc., with many thematic focuses written by specialists and art historians. These focus, with a system of double pages, are key entry in the catalog, designed as a book for a broad audience.