Etienne Jules Marey

Today we look at some more work by Etienne Jules Marey, a French scientist and photographer 

whose motion studies were instrumental in the development of modern movies.  Although not 

as prolific as Muybridge, he took a somewhat more scientific approach.  The commemorative

 relief above was sculpted by Paul Richer, a photographer and artist who knew 

Mr. Marey and whose work has been featured here many times.

 

Running Man I

This is the first of two images showing a sequence of a man running.

Note how well we can see the musculature.

 

Richard Sheldon

My source says this is American 1900 Olympic athlete Richard Sheldon, 

and that Mr. Marey was assisted in producing the sequence by Lucien Bull.

 

Jump

The model here is fully clothed, but I find the image to be charming for some reason.

 

 Here's a second running man, only this time the runner

 begins in an athletic starting position at right.

Pole Vault

I find this pole vaulter sequence interesting because it not only show the full range of motion from start to finish, but it also shows the outdoor shed used by Mr. Marey to do his work.  This is very similar to the arrangement that Eadweard Muybridge used in Philadephia.

 

GIF II

Here's another GIF.  The ball isn't the only thing that bounces.

 

Movie Clip

Here's a movie clip that I call,  "One, two, cha cha cha."

 

Etienne-Jules Marey

While Muybridge and Eakins were pushing the bounds of photography in 1880s Philadelphia, a group of Frenchmen in and around Paris were doing the same.  We've already looked at the medical and anatomical photos of Paul Richer and Albert Londe, as well as the athletic work of Professor Desbonnet.  Today we look at the motion studies of Etienne-Jules Marey and the apparatus he invented and called the Chronophotographic Gun.  (One model even had a stock like a rifle.)  Marey was also a physiologist, so a good portion of his work shows off male anatomy.  Shown above in his lab, he collaborated at one point with Thomas Edison.  Today we will look at ten of his images.

 

Mystery

Our first Marey image is something I found described online as a frame from a Marey sequence made into a short movie.  Multiple searches have failed to find either the movie or the still sequence.  And no, I don't have a clue as to what he is doing unless he's inflating one of those medical test  units, something that wouldn't make a good piece on animal motion or musculature.

 

Out of the blocks

 This one shows a runner bursting out of the starting blocks.

Looking at Us I

I have a fifteen panel set of this model walking across a set, and in every image he makes sure we can see his face.  One does not see this in any off Marey's other groups of photos.  Another interesting note on this one is the line drawn from his hip to his ankle for anatomical reference.

 

Bicycle

Cycling was a big craze when Marey did much of is work, as witnessed by the sheer number of cyclists in the athletic nudes of his contemporary Paul Richer.  So it's no surprise that Mr. Marey put the motif into his work.  I have to say that the model has a beautiful bum.  Enlarge this if you can.

 

GIF

I don't know who made this GIF file of one of Marey's subjects, but I like it.

 

Looking at Us II

Here's a different view of the fellow shown earlier who looks right at us.

 

Loincloth

The loincloth is a bit of a letdown, but the athleticism comes through quite well.

 

Resolute

This well built walker gives an impression of being resolute about the project.

 

Fun

More than one expert observer has said that Marey and his crew did this one just for fun.

It does appear to be a one off that they just went outside and took on a lark.

 

Swinger

Our final Marey photo is a man swinging a stick,

and the muscle definition is nothing less than amazing.