Plate Number 37. Walking; left hand holding dress, right hand at face 1887

Eadweard Muybridge created this photographic study using collodion on glass sometime during his career, which spanned much of the 19th century. Muybridge is well known for his pioneering work in photographic studies of motion. This piece is part of a larger series called Animal Locomotion, which sought to capture and analyze the movements of humans and animals. In "Plate Number 37," we see a woman walking, her dress held in one hand, her other hand touching her face, a gesture that seems both intimate and performative. The choice of a woman as the subject, her body revealed in fragmented moments, raises questions about the gaze, and the role of women as both subject and object of scientific inquiry. Muybridge once said that photography "is the most remarkable epoch in the history of human progress." Considering the time it was made, this work reflects the late 19th century's fascination with science, progress, and the body. It also speaks to the complex and gendered dynamics of that time.