Plate Number 321. A: Lifting a 50-lb. dumbbell. B: Posing 1887

Eadweard Muybridge’s *Plate Number 321. A: Lifting a 50-lb. dumbbell. B: Posing* (1887) is a photographic sequence that captures a nude male lifting weights and posing. Muybridge’s famous series of animal and human locomotion studies revolutionized the understanding of movement through a series of sequential images. This specific plate captures the nuanced details of human movement through precise photographic documentation, a crucial element in the development of cinematography. The gridded background emphasizes the progression of the pose as the subject lifts the dumbbell.