Thomas Eakins
1885 (negative, later print)
Motion Study - Jesse Godley, Running Jump to Left

Albumen silver prints
3 5/8 × 4 13/16 ins (9.2 × 12.3 cm) (Image and sheet)
 
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Gift of Charles Bregler, 1977, Accession Number: 1977-171-2
 
Eakins wrote that "to draw the human figure it is necessary to know as much as possible about it, about its structure and its movements, its bones and muscles, how they are made, and how they act." He sought to provide his students with the fullest understanding of anatomy, and experimented with different modes of capturing weight and movement. Jesse Godley, a student and anatomy demonstrator at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, collaborated with Eakins, modeling and even photographing some of his motion studies. Just a few years later, however, Godley would side against his trusted teacher in the scandal that led to Eakins's ouster from the Academy.
 
LL/71034