Plate Number 342. Boxing, open hand

Art Historical Context

Step into the pioneering world of motion capture with *Plate Number 342. Boxing, open* by Eadweard Muybridge, created in 1887 as part of his groundbreaking *Animal Locomotion* series This collotype print, measuring 16.3 × 44.5 cm, a male figure mid-boxing stance with an open hand, in sequential frames that reveal the fluidity of human movement. Muybridge, a British-American photographer, revolutionized visual arts through chronophotography—using multiple cameras triggered in rapid succession to dissect motion, bridging photography and early film. Printed via collotype, a precise photomechanical process that faithfully reproduced subtle tones and details for scholarly distribution, this plate was among 781 produced under a University of Pennsylvania commission. It exemplifies Muybridge's scientific rigor, debunking myths about how bodies move and influencing fields from anatomy to animation. Acquired by the Corcoran Gallery in 1887 and now in the National Gallery of Art's Corcoran Collection, this work highlights a pivotal moment when art met science, paving the way for cinema pioneers like the Lumière brothers. Imagine the thrill of seeing "life in motion" for the first time— a testament to human ingenuity!

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...