EADWEARD MUYBRIDGE: FATHER OF CINEMATOGRAPHY

Eadweard Muybridge was born in Kingston on Thames in 1830 - at which point he bore the somewhat duller name of Edward James Muggeridge.

At the age of 22 he left England for America, seeking his fame and fortune. He first worked in New York as a bookbinder's agent and then moved to San Francisco where his interest in photography bloomed. Using a mobile darkroom that was christened The Flying Studio, he produced stunning stereoscopic views and many beautiful landscapes, such as this one from within a volcano...

But the greater fame that Muybrige desired was found when he was hired by the railroad baron, Leland Stanford. Stanford, a passionate racing horse breeder, commissioned the photographer to solve the age old argument as to the whether or not a running horse ever lifts all four feet from the ground.

Muybrige was to prove that it did -.

 - and the ingenius method he used was to white out a section of track along the length of which he set up 12 (and in later experiments, 24) cameras with shutters attached to threads. As the horse passed by and broke each thread an instant exposure was taken.

The public were amazed at the results and Muybridge went on to develop his art, producing a substantial body of work which was published in his books Animal Locomotion and The Human Figure in Motion. His detailed and systematic study of the science of movement inspired many twentieth century artists such as Francis Bacon.

 Muybrige's study of wrestlers

Francis Bacon's 'Two Fighters'

Later, Muybridge was to develop the Zoopraxiscope - a method of printing a series of images onto a ciruclar base which, when turned, gave the illusion of successive phases of movement. In other words, animation.

A Zoopraxiscope - click here to see the couple dancing

A sweet and romantic picture. But, Muybridge's own private life was beset by violence and tragedy. He married late in life to Flora,  a young woman half his age. And while Muybrige was often absent, travelling the land with his cameras, Flora was wooed by a certain Major Harry Larkyns. When Muybridge came home and discovered the affair he went out to visit Harry in person, confronting his rival with the words: "Good evening, Major, my name is Muybridge and here is the answer to the letter you sent my wife."

The answer was a bullet. The major was shot dead.

There followed a murder trial but Muybridge was acquited on grounds of justifiable homicide when his lawyers successfully argued that a head injury recieved years before had affected their client's rationality.

But, for Flora the nightmare had only begun. She was pregnant, and her husband refused to believe that the child could be his. In 1874 a baby boy was born. His grieving, abandoned mother was forced to go through the shame of applying for divorce and alimony. Her plea was successful but the following year Flora died of typhoid, and Muybridge - who always refused to acknowledge the child - had little Florado committed to an orphanage.

How ironic it was that in later years when 'Floddie' grew up to be man, working as a ranch hand and gardener, he was said to bear such an uncanny resemblance to the famous Eadweard Muybridge.

That unhappy period in Muybridge's life was to provide the inspiration for an opera composed by Philip Glass in 1982. It is called The Photographer. The libretto is drawn from transcripts of the trial, and letters that Muybridge wrote to his wife.  Act 1 - A Gentleman's Honour -can be heard on youtube. Thanks to Neo Victorianist for supplying me with the link.

In later years, Muybridge returned to Kingston on Thames where he died in 1904, bequeathing his original equipment and prints to the Kingston Museum.

There is also an exhibition in Tate Britian's Linbury Galleries.

And a new show exploring the perception of movement which has been curated by Dr Jonathan Miller has just opened at the Estorick Gallery in Highbury and Islington. Apparantly, Miller makes a strong case for the Frenchman Etienne-Jules Marey as the true pioneer of stop-start photography. The VV will certainly be visiting - Highbury also being the home of her favourite football team.

Stephen Herbert has a very interesting blog regarding the life and works of Muybridge.

And finally, the VV found herself oddly moved by Muybridge's historic image of a bison galloping over the plains.

You can watch it here