Plate Number 42. Walking and pouring water from a pitcher

Art Historical Context

Eadweard Muybridge's *Plate Number 42. and pouring water from a* (1887) is a captivating entry from his groundbreaking *Animal Locomotion* series a monumental publication of 781 collotype plates that dissected human and animal movement through sequential photography. Capturing a nude figure mid-stride while gracefully pouring water from a pitcher this image exemplifies Muybridge's obsession with freezing everyday actions into analyzable moments. Produced as part of the Corcoran Collection at the National Gallery of Art the 21.65 × 33.3 cm image on a larger 48.4 × 61.3 cm sheet invites viewers to trace the fluid interplay of limbs and liquid. Muybridge, a pioneering photographer, employed banks of up to 24 cameras triggered by electro-mechanical shutters to produce these motion studies, revolutionizing visual science in the late 19th century. The collotype medium—a photomechanical process—allowed for exquisite tonal fidelity, making complex reproductions accessible for study by artists, scientists, and anatomists. This plate highlights the precision of his technique, revealing subtle shifts in balance and gesture that the naked eye overlooks. Beyond its technical marvel, the work holds immense cultural weight, influencing early cinema (like the Lumière brothers) and modern artists exploring time and motion. Step into Muybridge's world and witness how a simple pour becomes a symphony of human kinetics!

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...