Plate Number 205. Carrying and stooping with a vase 1887

Eadweard Muybridge created this photographic study, Plate Number 205, in a series exploring human locomotion. The arrangement presents us with a grid of sequential images that capture the act of carrying a vase, and then stooping to place it. Notice how Muybridge dissects movement into discrete moments. The figure is captured with incredible precision and detail. The play of light and shadow across the subject's form helps define the body in space. The grid-like composition also emphasizes the artwork's systematic, almost scientific approach to documenting movement. Here, we see a precursor to cinema, a study of time broken down into still frames. Muybridge challenges traditional notions of representation, questioning the boundaries between art, science, and technology.