Plate Number 113. Descending an incline

Art Historical Context

Eadweard Muybridge'sPlate Number 113.ending an incline* (1887) is a captivating entry from his groundbreaking *Animal Locomotion* series, monumental publication of 781 collotype plates that dissected human and animal movement through sequential photography. Commissioned by the University of Pennsylvania and purchased that same year for what became the Corcoran at the National Gallery of Art this work captures a figure mid-descent, freezing a fluid motion into 12 precise instants. Muybridge, a pioneering photographer born in Britain but famed in America, transformed visual art and science by proving that all four hooves of a galloping horse leave the ground—a revelation that paved the way for motion pictures. Printed as a high-fidelity collotype—a photomechanical process allowing intricate reproduction of photographs on a grand scale (sheet: 47.55 × 60.2 cm)—this plate exemplifies Muybridge's chronophotographic technique. Using multiple cameras triggered in rapid succession, he revealed the hidden rhythms of everyday actions like descending an incline, blending artistry with empirical rigor. Nude models, often women in dynamic poses, underscored the series' scientific yet aesthetic appeal. Today, this piece highlights Muybridge's enduring legacy: influencing filmmakers like the Lumière brothers and animators, while challenging Victorian norms around the body in motion. A must-see for understanding how photography unlocked time itself!

About the Artist

Eadweard Muybridge · 1830–1904

Eadweard Muybridge (1830-1904) was an English-American photographer who revolutionized the understanding of motion through his pioneering chronophotographic studies. Born Edward James Muggeridge in Kingston upon Thames, England, he emigrated to America and became famous first for his dramatic landscape photographs of Yosemite Valley, then for his groundbreaking motion studies that proved horses li...