Eadweard Muybridge’s Animal Locomotion is a photographic project produced between 1884 and 1887 under the auspices of the University of Pennsylvania. This work meticulously documents the motion of humans and animals through sequential photography, encompassing over 19,000 individual images spread across 781 plates.
Leland Stanford, a prominent businessman and politician, was instrumental in advancing the study of motion through his collaboration with Eadweard Muybridge. As an avid horse breeder, Stanford sought to resolve a long-standing debate about equine locomotion: whether all four hooves of a horse leave the ground simultaneously during a gallop. In 1872, he hired Muybridge to investigate the matter, providing financial backing and resources for the experiments. This partnership not only confirmed Stanford’s hypothesis but also launched Muybridge’s pioneering work in sequential photography, culminating in the landmark study, Animal Locomotion.
Rooted in the cultural and scientific fascination with realism and precision, Animal Locomotion reflects broader themes of the Victorian era’s commitment to empiricism and the study of nature. Eadweard Muybridge’s innovative use of sequential frames, captured in rapid succession, allowed viewers to observe phenomena invisible to the naked eye, revealing the subtle mechanics of motion. Beginning with his famous work on horses, Muybridge’s investigations quickly encompassed a wide range of subjects, from animals like lions, elephants, and birds to humans engaged in walking, running, athletic pursuits, and everyday tasks.
The project’s aesthetic resonates with a blend of objectivity and artistry. The use of a grid-lined backdrop underscore the scientific aims of the project, emphasising precision and measurement. Muybridge used multi-camera setups to capture simultaneous perspectives—side, front, and rear—creating a visual language that combines depth and dimension. The monochromatic palette highlights the intricate interplay of light and shadow, enhancing the anatomical details and the dynamics of motion.
Technically, Muybridge employed groundbreaking techniques for the era, including custom-designed shutter mechanisms and electrical triggers that synchronized the cameras with the subjects’ movements. These innovations were pivotal, enabling exposure times fast enough to freeze high-speed actions, from a horse’s gallop to the flutter of a bird’s wings.
Issued by subscription in 1887, the eleven-volume Animal Locomotion first reached universities and museums; Muybridge then broadened its audience through public lectures using his Zoopraxiscope—a projector that animated his images—culminating in a dedicated Zoopraxographical Hall at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Later retrospectives, notably Helios: Eadweard Muybridge in a Time of Change (Corcoran; Tate Britain; SFMOMA, 2010–11), clarified its cross-disciplinary impact. Substantial holdings at institutions such as the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Victoria & Albert Museum sustain research into motion studies, photographic sequencing, and early cinema.
