Jumping over Boy's Back (Leap-frog)
Photograph
1887 (made)
1887 (made)
| Artist/Maker |
Eadweard Muybridge's experiments in using a bank of separate cameras to record the sequential movements of animals and humans anticipated the invention of cinema. This is one of 781 plates from his series, Animal Locomotion. The South Kensington Museum (now the V&A) was among the institutions, artists and scientists that subscribed to the series and made possible its publication. Although an apparently scientific endeavour, the sequence is infused with humour. The effortless manner of these leap-frogging men suggests that they are skilled gymnasts, but their deadpan suits, and the signature hat, turn their routine into a comedic skit.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Titles |
|
| Materials and techniques | Collotype |
| Brief description | 19thC; Muybridge E, 2 Boys playing leap-frog |
| Physical description | Photograph of sequential images of two men in suits playing leap frog |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label | Gallery 100, ‘History of photography’, 2011-2012, label text :
Eadweard Muybridge (1830-1904)
‘Jumping over Boy’s Back (Leap-frog)’,
from the series Animal Locomotion
1887
Muybridge used the most advanced camera technology
and multiple cameras to record animals and humans
in motion. He invented the zoopraxiscope in 1879, a
device to project sequences of photographs, anticipating
the invention of cinema. The South Kensington
Museum (later the V&A) was among the institutions
and individuals that subscribed to the series Animal
Locomotion and made possible its publication.
Collotype
Purchased from Eadweard Muybridge
Museum no. Ph.683-1889
(07 03 2014) |
| Object history | From Animal Locomotion: An Electro-Photographic Investigation of Consecutive Phases of Animal Movements (1887) |
| Summary | Eadweard Muybridge's experiments in using a bank of separate cameras to record the sequential movements of animals and humans anticipated the invention of cinema. This is one of 781 plates from his series, Animal Locomotion. The South Kensington Museum (now the V&A) was among the institutions, artists and scientists that subscribed to the series and made possible its publication. Although an apparently scientific endeavour, the sequence is infused with humour. The effortless manner of these leap-frogging men suggests that they are skilled gymnasts, but their deadpan suits, and the signature hat, turn their routine into a comedic skit. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | PH.683-1889 |
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| Record created | February 6, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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