| A collaboration between an English-born eccentric | | | | The unaided human eye could not resolve that |
| Eadweard Muybridge and the founder of one of our | | | | question.Eadweard MuybridgeEnter Muybridge. With a |
| great universities resulted in a series of events which | | | | tempestuous personality, sporting a Walt Whitman |
| spelled the end of the "hobby-horse" posture in horse | | | | beard, and carrying on in the grand tradition of the |
| art and paintings.Towards the end of the 19th century, | | | | English eccentric, it was said of Eadweard Muybridge |
| an event occurred which significantly changed the | | | | that had he never been born a novelist would have |
| world of horse art, in particular paintings but for | | | | created him. Coming to America from England at an |
| sculpture as well. Until that time period, most paintings | | | | early age, Muybridge established a reputation as one |
| of horses at full gallop showed the front legs extended | | | | of San Francisco's great 19th century landscape |
| forward and the hind legs extended to the rear. Unless | | | | photographers. Over time, his interests narrowed and |
| a horse's motion was to be similar to that of a | | | | became focused upon photographing and studying the |
| rabbits's, this position would be anatomically impossible. | | | | motion of animals and people.Muybridge and Stanford |
| This posture by the way, is often referred to as the | | | | met in 1873 at which time Muybridge began to |
| rocking horse or hobby-horse posture. Can you image | | | | photograph Stanford's horses in motion. It should be |
| trying to stay in the saddle if a horse's motion was the | | | | noted that at that time photographers often built their |
| same as a rabbit's? It would be an adventure to say | | | | own equipment and mixed their own chemicals. |
| the least.Pleasure riding would be restricted to the | | | | Exposure time was usually measured in seconds |
| walk, perhaps the slow trot. Canter? Forget it! Driving? | | | | rather than in tenths, much less one-hundredths of a |
| One horse or a team. Picture the effect if horses ran | | | | second. Up to that time no photographer had been |
| like rabbits. It would likely shake the buggy apart in a | | | | able to capture events too rapid to be seen by the |
| short distance. Yet this was how horses at full gallop | | | | naked eye.The two worked together for nearly ten |
| were generally portrayed.If you've ever tried to figure | | | | years. During that time Muybridge continually improved |
| out the motion (or gait) of a horse, or a dog or cat for | | | | and refined his photographic processes. By 1877, |
| that matter at a walk, with a little concentration you'll | | | | Muybridge, in collaboration with Leland Stanford's |
| soon figure out the order in which the legs moved and | | | | engineering staff was able to photograph movement |
| when a hoof (or paw) leaves or touches the ground | | | | with a shutter speed of 1/2000th of a second. It was |
| with respect to the position of the other legs. At a trot | | | | here that he provided conclusive proof that the horse |
| - more difficult but possible. But at a gallop or run - | | | | did have all four hooves off the ground during the |
| forget it (I've tried this walking behind our beagle) - the | | | | gallop.What was key to the world of horse art was |
| legs move faster than our eyes are capable of | | | | found in the photographs which showed every aspect |
| tracking. It's little wonder that until the advent of | | | | of the horses' gait. The photos showed that, at full |
| photography there was a great deal of guesswork as | | | | gallop, all four hooves were for an instant under the |
| to how a horse actually moved at a canter or | | | | horse and off the ground.In The Art of the Horse by |
| gallop.One artist who had a clue was the Englishman | | | | John Fairley there is a reproduction of a wonderful |
| whose meticulous studies of the horse's anatomy | | | | painting depicting the chariot races at the Circus |
| gave him an understanding as to what motion was | | | | Maximus. It is an immensely realistic and powerful |
| possible and what was not.The "Farm"Leland Stanford | | | | painting. However, every horse under full gallop has |
| (1824-1893) - railroad executive, governer, senator, | | | | both front legs extended forward and both hind legs |
| pioneer in California's wine industry and founder of | | | | extended to the rear. If that were the case it would be |
| Stanford University, was also a breeder and trainer of | | | | amazing if the charioteer could stay aboard for even |
| horses. His farm (the Palo Alto Stock Farm) was one | | | | one lap!When Muybridge's results became generally |
| of the finest for trotting horses in the United States | | | | known (largely through publication in Scientific |
| and in the 1880's and 1890's home to 600 horses and | | | | American in 1878) they were readily accepted by |
| 150 trainers and staff. The "Farm" eventually became | | | | artists such as Degas, Eakins, George Stubbs and |
| the site of Stanford University.The farm ( and later the | | | | Remington. Others, like Rodin had to go through a |
| city) was named after one of Stanford's great trotting | | | | period of "furious denial" before finally abandoning the |
| horses, Palo Alto. The horse was in turn named after | | | | "rocking horse" style. Muybridge continued his work up |
| the first major battlefield victory of the Mexican War. | | | | until his death in 1904. Like English painter John Stubbs' |
| Stanford's trotters won numerous trophies and ribbons | | | | studies of the anatomy of the horse, Muybridge's work |
| and several were credited with world record times. In | | | | had a profound influence on equine art. The artist could |
| his quest to breed the fastest possible trotters | | | | now study detail that the human eye could not see.His |
| Stanford had a great interest in learning more and | | | | work with Stanford attracted the attention of Thomas |
| more about them, including details of the gait. One of | | | | Edison and, together with George Eastmans ongoing |
| the controversies at the time was whether or not a | | | | work in the development of film, set the stage for |
| horse ever was completely airborne during the canter. | | | | motion pictures. |