The Human Figure in Motion

This digital edition of Eadweard Muybridge’s The Human Figure in Motion captures consecutive phases of muscular actions in a portable PDF. The file is available for instant download after purchase, so there is no physical shipping and no waiting. Readers can open it on a range of compatible devices.

The Human Figure in Motion is a classic electro-photographic investigation, presented here as a 146-page digital document of 17.1 MB. It reproduces serial photographs originally made for Animal Locomotion and focuses exclusively on the human figure.

Book Overview

Eadweard Muybridge began this investigation in 1872 and completed it in 1885 under the auspices of the University of Pennsylvania. This 1907 London edition, published by Chapman & Hall, Ltd., is described as the third impression.

The volume belongs to the field of motion photography and was issued as a convenient and popular selection from the larger Animal Locomotion series. It is aimed at artists, physiologists, and natural scientists who need precise knowledge of the successive appearances of the limbs during movement.

What You’ll Discover Inside

• Serial photographs of walking, running, jumping, and turning, recorded from lateral and foreshortened points of view.
• Actions such as boxing, fencing, wrestling, baseball, cricket, rowing, blacksmithing, and shoveling.
• Models identified as students or graduates of the University of Pennsylvania, athletes, fencing and sparring instructors, artists’ models, and a professional dancer.
• Timing intervals recorded in thousandths of a second and reprinted beneath many series.
• A catalogue of illustrations explaining the arrangement of laterals, front foreshortenings, and rear foreshortenings.
• Photo-mezzotint plates reproduced from original negatives without retouching.

Why This Book Matters

The book was intended to help artists obtain truthful impressions of movement as a whole, rather than as isolated instants. It also provided physiologists and natural scientists with a visual record of muscular actions that was difficult to obtain before high-speed photography.

For art and design reference, the photographed phases are meant to be studied as series, not as substitutes for personal observation. The author makes this point clearly in the introduction, adding that the plates are presented with all their faults, precisely as taken in the camera.

Book Details

Device Compatibility

This is a digital download and no physical item will be shipped. Access is available immediately after purchase through the download page.

The PDF can be opened with compatible reading apps on desktop computers, tablets, and mobile devices, including Kindle apps and similar readers. Platform availability may vary, so check the app or device documentation for PDF support.

FAQ

How will I receive the book after purchasing? The file is made available as an instant digital download after checkout.

Will a physical copy be shipped? No. This listing is for a digital PDF only.

What devices can I use to read it? The PDF works with compatible reading software on tablets, desktop computers, mobile devices, and Kindle apps.

Add this classic motion study to your digital library and keep Eadweard Muybridge’s influential plates close at hand.