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Eadweard Muybridge

(Kingston, England, 1830 - 1904, Kingston, England)

Animal Locomotion, Plate 335

1887

Collotype

9 1/8 x 12 1/4 in. (23.1 x 31.2 cm)

Collection of the Akron Art Museum

Gift of John Coplans

1979.12 d

More Information

In 1878, using high-speed methods of his own design, Eadweard Muybridge proved that a horse lifts all four hooves from the ground simultaneously during its gallop. This singular achievement defined Muybridge’s career as a photographer as well as the trajectory of photographic technology and its artistic possibilities. He continued to produce serial photographs of animals and humans in motion in his multi-year study Animal Locomotion. For this undertaking, he crafted custom cameras with multiple lenses and exposures, as well as rapidly cascading time-based shutters. Muybridge is largely considered the father of motion pictures because he invented the zoopraxis—a device that provided an illusion that images displayed in quick succession were moving, similar to the effect of a flip book.

Keywords
Photography
Black and White
Men
Boxing