Source: ”Stone Relief with Amenhotep II shooting an arrow through an Ingot. 18th Dynasty. Luxur Museum.” From the book: Beyond Babylon: Art, Trade, and Diplomacy in the Second Millennium B.C by The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Many times I find myself asking How modern is modern art? and now I’m quite confident to say that art will always be modern. For instance, one of the first things that caught my eye from looking at this piece was the smooth, elegant shapes that make up the horse; in many ways it reminded me of similar aspects I have noticed to be prominent in other styles such as neo-classicism and cubism. Additionally, take a look at the horse’s feet and notice how they communicate speed through repetition, don’t they remind you of animation?

Ancient art is about simplification of form, and in that aspect, quick, easy communication. No wonder great leading design figures such as Paul Rand and Milton Glaser have always advocated so much to look at Ancient Art as a way for us graphic designers find solutions to our problems.