Essential Films Canon

Eadweard Muybridge’s Sallie Gardner at a Gallop (1878) invites repeated viewing, much as the zoopraxiscope intended. A seminal work in the history of cinema, this early example of chronophotography demonstrated that moving images were not merely a technical achievement but, more importantly, a desir… →

In the search for the earliest moving images of a kiss, we stumble upon Eadweard Muybridge’s The Kiss (1882). Two nude women meet, shake hands and share a loving kiss – imprinting for posterity a moment of homosexual intimacy more often than not torn from the pages of history. Cinema, unlike paintin… →

Eadweard Muybridge stripped to his bare skin in Athlete Swinging a Pick (1881) in order to show the full force achievable through human movement. This pose echoes the art of classical Greece, where the naked human body is celebrated for its architecture. It is as if Muybridge saw himself as a Promet… →

Eadweard Muybridge made Buffalo Running (1883) over one hundred and forty years ago, yet its importance lasts to this day as the first nature documentary. A precursor to his seminal Animal Locomotion series, this short proto-film establishes a foundational framework for the director’s style. The pre… →

Two men walk step by step in Eadweard Muybridge’s Athlete Walking 1 (1881). Their pace evokes the determination of two individuals intending to make history through the most ordinary of gestures. This chronophotographic study is clearly aimed less at scientific exploration and more at artistic perfo… →

Eadweard Muybridge must have been far more interested in artistic representation than in science when producing Child Bringing Bouquet to Woman (1887). There is ample movement that could serve the study of locomotion, but the emotional warmth of this sequence suggests a rare attempt at narrative bui… →

Given the extraordinary space images we have grown used to seeing today, watching The 1882 Transit of Venus (1882), the telescopic chronophotographic work by David Peck Todd, is a remarkable experience, pointing to the invaluable role photography and film have played in astronomy. When Janssen exper… →

Boxing was probably the most popular sport to gain exposure through motion pictures in the nineteenth century. In Eadweard Muybridge’s early chronophotographic output we also find Athletes Boxing (1881), a vivacious encounter between two pugilists in combat. Prior to the reincarnation of the modern … →

At fifty years old, Eadweard Muybridge sported an athletic physique, and it is therefore unsurprising that he featured in many of his own photographic studies. Athlete Running 2 (1881) presents a bearded gentleman sprinting at full speed, lending his body to the study of human locomotion. The images… →

Woman Throwing Baseball (1887) is a collection of photographs depicting women repeating the action of kneeling to pick up a baseball and then throwing it high into the air. Featuring multiple female subjects of diverse ages and physiques, and captured from various angles, this study takes Eadweard M… →

The sportsman in Athlete Running High Leap (1881) executes a rather impressive leap over a hurdle. This routine seems most suitable for effectively utilising the full track laid out by Eadweard Muybridge at Palo Alto Stock Farm. Given the speed of the action and the shifting point of view, the camer… →

Eadweard Muybridge’s early studies of locomotion will always impress with their ambition. At a time when photographs required longer exposure times, capturing rapid movement such as that shown in Athlete Back Summersault 1 (1881) was a technological feat. What it lacks in clarity, this sequence of p… →

Eadweard Muybridge's Skeleton of Horse (1881) is a striking reminder of the painstaking efforts of scientists working in motion photography in the nineteenth century. This first attempt at stop-motion animation is remarkable for its sharpness. By the 1880s, Muybridge had perfected his technology to … →

Eadweard Muybridge’s fascination with the nude resembles the concern classical artists had with the body. His Woman Walking Downstairs (1887) takes the simplicity of the act to celebrate human beauty within a new art-form. Conversely, a quarter of a century later, Marcel Duchamp pushed the boundarie… →

Of all the chronophotographic works featuring runners first presented by Eadweard Muybridge in 1881, Athlete Running 4 (1881) presents the most athletic figure. With an impressive physique, the performer uses his full bodily strength to propel himself forward with every stride. His motion resembles … →

There is a striking resemblance between the man in Athlete Running 3 (1881) and the Artemision Bronze of Zeus, making it difficult not to link Eadweard Muybridge’s oeuvre with the art of Ancient Greece. The aesthetic produced by the silhouette in this chronophotographic work alludes strongly to that… →

The sequence of photographs Athletes Wrestling (1881) by Eadweard Muybridge presents two fighters locked in a Greco-Roman bout. Through his association with the Olympic Club of San Francisco, Muybridge had access to numerous volunteers who performed for his cameras. The wrestlers ignore the setting … →

Boys Playing Leapfrog: Side View (1887) was intended as a scientific study of human locomotion, following Muybridge’s Athletes series at Palo Alto Stock Farm. These photographs from Philadelphia, taken a few years later, exhibit significantly improved visual quality, allowing close observation of in… →

Given that fencing was first regularised in 1880 in London, Muybridge’s sequence of photographs Athletes Fencing (1881) offers direct evidence of the growing popularity of the sport in its early days. The moving images could have served as educational material for those seeking to understand the new… →

The human body inevitably became Eadweard Muybridge's principal focus of study, largely because it is capable of executing varied actions as required. This precision of movement is clearly evident in Athlete Back Summersault 2 (1881), in which a young man performs a back flip with notable ease. This… →

Athlete Running 6 (1881) reuses the same format as Athlete Running 4 (1881), except that the main protagonist here is a leaner, and possibly younger, sprinter. From a technical standpoint, this series of photographs suffers from increased contrast, leaving the male body to appear more as a silhouett… →

Because parrots are swift fliers, Eadweard Muybridge’s ambition to record them using chronophotography invites admiration. Cockatoo Flying (1887) is an early example of a bird in flight. For the first time in history, scientists gained the opportunity to analyse in detail the movement of avian wings… →

Eadweard Muybridge’s studies of human locomotion filmed at Palo Alto Stock Farm include the most fundamental actions. In Athlete Walking 2 (1881), the subject performs the most basic of human activities, allowing us to observe the all-too-familiar movements of musculature captured with notable succe… →

With his arms close to his chest, the man at the centre of Athlete Running 5 (1881) makes huge strides to gain an advantage over Eadweard Muybridge’s speedy cameras. His black silhouette moves with bravado against a landscape full of light. Only his muscular legs and glutes are sufficiently defined … →

Capybara Walking (1887) is one of Eadweard Muybridge’s more exotic works on animal locomotion. Commissioned by the University of Pennsylvania, this set of chronophotographic studies was deemed to have contributed to a number of biological sciences, further expanding knowledge of the behaviour of dif… →