Plate Number 322. Lifting and letting down two 50-lb. dumbbells

Eadweard Muybridge

National Gallery of Art

This is a series of black-and-white photographs showing a person lifting weights. There are two rows of twelve images each, displaying different stages of the lifting process. The background has a grid pattern. The photos document the movement from a bent position on the ground to a full arm extension above the head and back down. The lighting accentuates the figure's contours and poses, similar to early motion photography for scientific and artistic studies.