Despite its texture and remarkable chromatic properties, the ceiling of the Axial Gallery was little used by the prehistoric artists.
The most impressive figure is that of a red cow. It is no less than 2.87 metres long, and takes up not only the entire width of the ceiling, but also the tops of the two adjoining walls. It cuts across the central axis at a 45° angle. It retains the same proportions as those of the other representations of cows. Nevertheless, the pronounced curvature of the surface and the difficulties in accessing the space are the source of the repentir at the level of the forequarters, from the neck to the right forelimb. The path of this line lies well in front – some twelve centimetres – of the red colour field that definitively depicts the cow's forequarters. Repentirs are extremely rare occurrences, both in Lascaux as well as in other western European painted Palaeolithic caves, and here it is a sign of the technical difficulties that the artist encountered.