Plate Number 614. "Flode Holden" trotting, harnessed to sulky, breaking into a gallop

Art Historical Context

Step into the groundbreaking world of motion photography withadweard Muybridge *Plate Number 614. "Flode Holden"tting, harnessed toky, breaking into aop* (1887). Muybridge, a British-American photographer renowned for his pioneering stop-motion studies, captured this dynamic sequence as part of his monumental *Animal Locomotion*. Here, the horse "Fl Holden" transitions fluidly from a trot to a gallop while pulling a lightweight sulky cart, showcasing the raw power and grace of equine movement. Printed as a collotype—a precise photomechanical process that allowed for detailed, large-scale reproductions—this 19.2 × 36.7 cm image compiles multiple exposures from Muybridge's innovative battery of up to 24 cameras triggered by the subject's motion. This technique froze split-second phases of action, revealing anatomical details invisible to the naked eye. Historically, Muybridge's work shattered myths, like the popular belief that a trotting horse always had at least one hoof on the ground (famously debunked earlier in his Stanford-commissioned horse studies). Acquired by the Corcoran Gallery in 1887 and now in the National Gallery of Art's Corcoran Collection, this plate not only advanced scientific understanding of locomotion but also laid foundational stones for cinema, influencing filmmakers like the Lumière brothers. A testament to Victorian-era innovation, it invites us to marvel at photography's power to dissect 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...