Product Description

"Of all the great pioneer-innovators of the 19th century, perhaps the least known is Eadweard Muybridge."

"Of all the great turning points in scientific, technological and artistic thought, undoubtedly the least known (because it has effectively, never been published) is Muybridge's eleven-volume pictorial treatise of human and animal life in motion."

"100 years after completion, this rarest of all photographic series (only 37 sets still extant, most of them incomplete) is finally published complete and accessible to a wide public, in three volumes of 20,000 photographs. Twenty years of devotion and invention, patience and insight, plus $50,000 and 100,000 negatives, culminated in the quintessential study of the moving figure. Muybridge had created an encylopedic anatomy of motion, unique in its day and unsurpassed in ours."

"The photographs consist of a series of movements shown in stop-motion sequence: 781 plates (each plate is a two-page spread) of nearly 300 separate actions split into as many as 50 individual shots per action. 532 of the plates show clothed and unclothed men, women and children engaging in a wide variety of typical actions and activities."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #798966 in Books
• Published on: 1979-07-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 629 pages

Customer Reviews

Motion Broken Down
As an artist and beginning animator, I have found Muybridge's motion studies to be helpful in understanding how the body travels in time (animals and machines too) using time-lapse photography. This book remains current and comprehensive especially in light of the current digital revolution's emphasis on special effects and eye candy. Muybridge's work is important because it goes to the roots of motion and reveals its simplicity and beauty. I highly recommend this fascinating book for those with curious minds.

fantastic book, but no animals...
if you are interested in clear depictions of humans in motion,
it is interesting that the absolute best work on the subject comes from the late 1800s. If you are interested in animal locomotion, get another book. I am assuming that the other 2 volumes will someday become available, making this a true "complete" study.
perhaps someone will update Muybridges work in the interim.