Plate Number 343. Striking a blow with left hand
Medium
collotype
Dimensions
image: 17.8 × 42.8 cm (7 × 16 7/8 in.) sheet: 47.7 × 60.3 cm (18 3/4 × 23 3/4 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase, 1887)
Accession Number
2014.79.368
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
Eadweard Muybridge *Plate Number 343. Striking a Blow with Left Hand* (1887) captures a dynamic moment from his groundbreaking *Animal Locomotion* series, a monumental study of movement comprising 781 plates. A pioneer in sequential photography, Muybridge used multiple cameras triggered in rapid succession to "freeze" human and animal actions, debunking myths like the unsupported flight of a galloping horse. This collotype print depicts a nude male figure mid-punch, showcasing the raw athleticism and precision of everyday motions. Printed via collotype—a photomechanical process that allowed faithful reproduction of fine details on a large scale (sheet: 47.7 × 60.3 cm)—this plate exemplifies Muybridge's fusion of science and art. His work, acquired by the Corcoran Gallery in 1887 and now in the National Gallery of Art's Corcoran Collection, bridged Victorian-era scientific inquiry with emerging visual technologies. Muybridge's innovations profoundly influenced early cinema, animation, and biomechanics, proving photography's power to analyze imperceptible motion. For visitors, this plate invites wonder at how a single "blow" reveals the poetry of human kinetics.
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...