#anatomical reference

Part of a set of photographs taken in the final years of the 19th century by the French army, studies of male anatomy and motion to help soldiers and officers better understand the human body and the physical tasks it must perform in such an occupation.

Another full page of anatomical reference nudes, posed by anoymous artists’ models, photographed in the studio of Louis Jean-Baptiste Igout, and published by A. Calavas, between 1870 and 1880.

It has been a while since I added to the 1855 set of Delacroix’s reference photographs, taken by Jean Louis Marie Eugène Durieu. These early images appear dark and hazy, due to the limits of photographic technology of the time, but all the more appealing for it.

An impressive display of strength and balance, here, as this muscular man performs a handstand for the camera - not the first time I’ve shared shots of this uncommon but immediately eye-catching inverted pose.

vintagehandsomemen:

Tennis with Muybridge(1887)

From pioneering motion-picture-maker Eadweard Muybridge’s historically significant Animal Locomotion study. Specifically the naked guy playing tennis, in zoetrope format.

More pictures.

Ten photographs compiled to recreate the movement, I thought this fascinating post might be appreciated, as you certainly seem to have liked the animatedblacksmiths I posted previously!

Photographed circa 1870 by Gaudenzio Marconi, this male model possesses a wonderfully well-defined physique; so much so that this particular print of his image has been annotated as an anatomical illustration.

loverofbeauty:

chronophotograph from the late 1800s by Étienne-Jules Marey

This piece is truly fascinating - not a true film clip but rather a sequence of still photographs taken in quick succession, using techniques similar to those deployed by the better-known Eadweard Muybridge, here animated to display the model’s movements in action. Also noteworthy, his fine moustache, and the tan which reaches no further than collar and elbow!

Seven photographs of George Reynolds, 1883, by Thomas Eakins (third from the right is my own favourite in the set)

A reference photograph taken in the studio of French sculptor Pierre-Charles Simart, in 1856, just a year before he died. 

As past images of vintage wrestlers and the work of Eadweard Muybridge have proved popular when posted here, I now present a sequence combining the well-received subject and much-lauded photographer. Taken in 1885, published in 1887.

As the first animated blacksmith I shared here was rather well-enjoyed, I thought it was time to include another - this time two work together to hammer the hot steel much more efficiently. Again made from a set of sequential photographs taken in the 1870s by Eadweard Muybridge (Animal Locomotion vol II, plate 337).

My goodness, at this precise moment my dear little collection’s esteemed audience stands at an astounding eight thousand followers! I never even imagined it might make eight hundred, I was honestly pleased with achieving but eighty, and now look at you all! I thank each and every one for your interest, your sharing and showing your admiration of the photographs, and all the kind messages of appreciation; and I fervently hope you’ve all found plenty to enjoy in what you’ve seen here over the last couple of years.
I have been unable to find you a photograph of eight men together, to mark today’s total the way I did some other significant figures, so allow me to cheat just a little and present eight exposures of the same man, in a Marey Wheel photograph by Thomas Eakins, circa 1884.

George Reynolds, student of Thomas Eakins, photographed in motion with multiple exposures of a Marey Wheel camera, in 1884.

Tom White posing nude on Newporth beach, Cornwall, in 1917; one of a series of photographs taken in association with the painter Henry Scott Tuke. Although they may only have been created to aid the artist with his work, the images have a timeless beauty all of their own.

A further page of Louis Jean-Baptiste Igout’s reference photographs for artists, published between 1870 and 1880 by A. Calavas as an affordable and convenient alternative to life models, and especially useful for amateur artists working at home.