"The Horse in Motion" by Eadweard Muybridge is an art piece that revolutionized the art world. Labeled "the world's first bit of cinema," it proved that photography could capture motion and debunked several myths about movement. However, behind the masterpiece is an incredibly fascinating and complicated history.
The Horse in Motion stills
"The Horse in Motion" was revolutionary because it was one of the first examples of chronophotography, which is a type of photography that chronicles subtle movements and the passage of time. It was the step between still photos and moving pictures that fascinated the public when it was published. Additionally, it showed that photography can capture details that the human eye was unable to, which signified that it could be used for a scientific purpose.
Stanford's horses
"The Horse in Motion" was commissioned by California governor Leland Stanford. Stanford was an avid horseman. Because of this, he became interested in a horse's gait, even making a bet about the way it runs. Thus, he hired Muybridge to photograph his horse Occident while he was running (Stanford also had several other horses: Abe Edington, Mahomet, Sallie Gardner, alongside Occident.
Muybridge with "The Horse in Motion"
Muybridge went to Stanford's farm and photographed it. However, he was unsatisfied with the first draft, even though Stanford loved it. So, they created a better background through sheets that Occident was trained to walk over. Muybridge continued his work (financed by Stanford) until he got photographs that were clear and sufficiently captured Occident at his full speed. While both Muybridge and Stanford got the photos they wanted, they still continued their experiments. Next, they captured photos of Abe Edington (an aforementioned other horse that Stanford owned) walking at 1/1000th of a second.
"The Derby of Epsom" by Géricault
"The Horse in Motion" by Muybridge
Through these detailed photos, it was revealed that all the horse's legs left the ground when it was in the "gathered position" rather than the "extended position." In other words, they found that instead of every leg being off the ground when the horse's limbs were outstretched, every leg was off the ground when they were "gathered" close to its chest. It discredited the anatomical accuracy paintings like Géricault’s "The Derby of Epsom," which had “flying gallop” or when all of the horse's legs were off the ground when outstretched (other paintings depicting it were “Baronet” by George Stubbs and “Ethan Allen and Mate and Dexter” by John Cameron). Inspired by this success, Muybridge began to experiment with it, adding color and using different horses.
"The Horse in Motion"
Muybridge also started holding demonstrations to show off his work. These demonstrations were extremely popular, with many reporters attending to cover the massive artistic breakthrough. One revealed that “It was a brilliant success. Even the threadlike tip of Mr. Marvin’s whip was plainly seen in each negative, and the horse was exactly depicted.” It was so popular that it inspired others to examine motion through chronophotography. Muybridge even met with Thomas Edison. Edison developed the kinetograph and kinetoscope, which were early movie cameras and screens. Muybridge proposed the idea of combining his images with Edison's phonograph to create a moving picture However, this conversation ultimately went nowhere. At this point, "The Horse in Motion" had been a series of images, but Stanford quickly came up with a new theory that would end up changing that. Stanford believed in the idea of “unsupported transit” or the ability for horses to have all four legs off the ground when running, but had no proof. He enlisted Muybridge to do the job, who would design the camera himself. The camera was activated by trip wires that the horse would run over. This would lead to the world's first motion picture: Sallie Gardner at a Gallop. It was only 2 seconds long, but it was a phenomenon. Muybridge was heralded as a genius.
The Cover of The Horse in Motion
Stanford was furious about the lack of credit and Stanford published his book Horse in Motion: as Shown by Instantaneous Photography to paint Muybridge as a fraud. He used Muybridge's work and didn't credit him. This led to Muybridge filing a lawsuit against Stanford, therefore cutting off their relationship and his funding. Officially, the book was published by Stanford’s friend J.D.B Stillman but was labeled as “Executed and published under the auspices of Leland Stanford." It was also copyrighted by Stanford, and he wrote the preface of it.
The Preface of The Horse in Motion
In the preface, Stanford wrote “I have for a long time entertained the opinion that the accepted theory of the relative positions of the feet of the horses in rapid motion was erroneous,” giving himself credit for coming up with the idea to examine a horse's movement. He also mentions hiring Muybridge, who he labels as "a very skillful photographer." However, he mentions wanting to examine further into Muybridge's work, writing that "it was necessary to review the whole subject of the locomotive machinery of the horse. I employed Dr. J. D. B. Stillman whom I believed to be capable of the undertaking.” However, despite their professional differences, Stanford and Muybridge were able to create something groundbreaking together. Muybridge’s works (books, “motion pictures,” zoetropes) are still used as reference for those depicting movement today. It both helped lead to the eventual development of movies, but it showed scientists that photography can be a mean to collect scientific data about certain areas of interest.
Sources:
Leslie, Mitchell. “The Man Who Stopped Time.” stanfordmag.org, May 2001. https://stanfordmag.org/contents/the-man-who-stopped-time.
Patowary, Kaushik. “The Galloping Horse Problem and the World’s First Motion Picture.” www.amusingplanet.com, June 19, 2019. https://www.amusingplanet.com/2019/06/the-galloping-horse-problem-and-worlds.html.
Stillman, B, Eadweard Muybridge, and Leland Stanford. The Horse in Motion : As Shown by Instantaneous Photography : With a Study on Animal Mechanics Founded on Anatomy and the Revelations of the Camera : In Which Is Demonstrated the Theory of Quadrupedal Locomotion. Biodiversity Heritage Library (Smithsonian Institution). Smithsonian Institution, 1882. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.20651.
Wikipedia Contributors. “Sallie Gardner at a Gallop.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, January 2, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Horse_in_Motion.