Plate Number 222. Stooping, lifting a water jar to head and turning 1887

Eadweard Muybridge made this albumen print, Plate Number 222, in the late 19th century. It shows a woman stooping, lifting a water jar to her head, and turning. This work is part of Muybridge's larger project to capture and analyze human and animal locomotion through photography. Muybridge's work was deeply embedded in the scientific and cultural contexts of his time. The late 19th century saw a growing interest in scientific observation and documentation, as well as a fascination with the human body. Muybridge's images catered to this interest, providing a seemingly objective record of movement that could be studied and analyzed. However, the scientific objectivity of these images is deceptive. The woman is nude, and her movements are carefully posed and choreographed. This raises questions about the power dynamics inherent in the creation of these images, and the ways in which the female body was objectified and scrutinized in the name of science. To fully understand this, we have to consider Victorian attitudes towards women, science, and the nude.