Plate Number 96. Ascending stairs, looking round and waving a handkerchief 1887

This is Plate Number 96, "Ascending stairs, looking round and waving a handkerchief," by Eadweard Muybridge. Through a sequence of still photographs, Muybridge dissects the action of a woman climbing stairs, looking back, and waving a handkerchief. Each frame captures a fraction of movement, meticulously arranged in a grid. This serial composition reveals the mechanics of human motion, reducing it to its constituent parts. Muybridge's methodology challenges our perception of continuous movement, presenting it instead as a series of discrete moments. The grid format also emphasizes the scientific objectivity of the work, positioning it as a study rather than a traditional artistic depiction of the body in motion. The grayscale tonality reinforces this sense of detached observation, highlighting the formal aspects of shape, line, and the body’s interaction with space. This deconstruction and reassembly of movement into individual frames is a profound comment on how we perceive and understand time and motion, laying the groundwork for the development of cinema.