Plate 513—Getting on and off table, 1887
Vintage collotype
Image size 8 ½ × 12 ½ in.
Sheet size 14 × 20 in.
December 30, 2024
Looking at this image, what first appears to be a purely scientific motion study reveals itself to have been artfully composed. True to the title (“Getting on and off table”), just as soon as we see the woman hitch up her dress and mount the tabletop, we then see her reversing course and dismounting, heading back in the direction that she came from. This conspicuous yet effective edit brings to mind the simple camera tricks that early silent movies used to great result, and the resulting pyramidal composition has its own idiosyncratic logic.
This picture sums up the twin appeals of Edweard Muybridge’s achievements. On one hand, it reflects the way in which he was a genuine trailblazer in the study of bodies in motion, which laid the groundwork for motion pictures. On the other hand, his sense of showmanship also anticipated vaudeville and the promotional machinery of the Hollywood studios, which has always produced myths as much as movies. One needs to look no further than his nom de plum for evidence of the latter, as Eadweard Muybridge was born Edward Muggeridge, before he adopted the more “archaic” (and eye-catching) form of his given name.
As long time admirers of Eadweard Muybridge we enter into 2025 with an ample stock of his vintage collotypes, and invite you to leap with us into whatever this new year holds (even if it may be tempting to turn back and retreat in the opposite direction!)
