Early approaches to motion in art
Evidence of artistic interest in depicting figures in motion can be seen as early as paleolithic cave paintings.
Animals in these paintings were often depicted with multiple sets of
legs in superimposed positions. Because these paintings are prehistoric
they could be explained a number of ways, such as the artist simply
changing their mind about the leg’s position with no means of erasing,
but it’s very likely that they are early attempts to convey motion.
Another example includes a 5,200-year old earthen bowl found in Iran in shahr-e sukhteh. The bowl has five images painted along the sides, showing phases of a goat leaping up to nip at a tree.
An Egyptian mural, found in the tomb of Khnumhotep and Niankhnum , at the beni hassan
cemetery includes a sequence of images in temporal succession. The
paintings are approximately 4000 years old and show scenes of young
soldiers being trained in wrestling and combat.
Seven drawings by Leonardo da vinci (ca. 1510) extending over two folios in the Windsor Collection, Anatomical Studies of the Muscles of the Neck, Shoulder, Chest, and Arm,
show detailed drawings of the upper body with a less-detailed facial
image. The sequence shows multiple angles of the figure as it rotates
and the arm extends. Because the drawings show only small changes from
one image to the next, the drawings imply motion in a single figure.
Even though some these early examples may appear similar to an
animated series of drawings, the lack of equipment to show them in
motion causes them to fall short of being true animation. The process of
illustrating the passing of time by putting images in a chronological
series is one of the most important steps in creating animation so
historic instances of this practice are definitely notable.
