Étienne-Jules Marey
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Étienne-Jules Marey (; 5 March 1830,
Beaune Beaune (; in Burgundian: ''Beane'') is widely considered to be the wine capital of Burgundy in the Côte d'Or department in eastern France. It is located between Lyon and Dijon. Beaune is one of the key wine centers in France, and a major ...
, Côte-d'Or – 15 May 1904, Paris) was a French scientist,
physiologist Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out chemical and ...
and chronophotographer. His work was significant in the development of
cardiology Cardiology () is the study of the heart. Cardiology is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery di ...
, physical instrumentation, aviation,
cinematography Cinematography () is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens (optics), lens to focus reflected light from objects into a real image that is transferred to some image sen ...
and the science of laboratory photography. He is widely considered to be a pioneer of photography and an influential pioneer of the history of cinema. He was also a pioneer in establishing a variety of graphical techniques for the display and interpretation of quantitative data from physiological measurement.


Biography

Marey started by studying
blood circulation In vertebrates, the circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the body. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, that consists of the heart an ...
in the human body. Then he shifted to analyzing heart beats, respiration, muscles (myography), and movement of the body. To aid his studies he developed many instruments for precise measurements. For example, in 1859, in collaboration with the physiologist Auguste Chauveau and the watch manufacturer Breguet, he developed a wearable ''
Sphygmograph The sphygmograph ( ) was a mechanical device used to measure blood pressure in the mid-19th century. It was developed in 1854 by German physiologist Karl von Vierordt (1818–1884). It is considered the first external, non-intrusive device used t ...
'' to measure the
pulse In medicine, the pulse refers to the rhythmic pulsations (expansion and contraction) of an artery in response to the cardiac cycle (heartbeat). The pulse may be felt ( palpated) in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surfac ...
. This sphygmograph was an improvement on an earlier and more cumbersome design by the German physiologist Karl von Vierordt. In 1869 Marey constructed a very delicate artificial insect to show how an insect flies and to demonstrate the figure-8 shape it produced during movement of its wings. He fixed a gold foil to an insect wing and shone light on it to study the flapping of the wing. He also used a soot covered glass-fibre introduced along the path of the insect wing to determine if it crossed with the wing in the upper stroke or lower stroke by examining the side on which the soot was cleared. Then he became fascinated by movements of air and started to study bigger flying animals, like birds. He adopted and further developed ''animated photography'' into a separate field of
chronophotography Chronophotography is a photographic technique from the Victorian era which captures a number of phases of movements. The best known chronophotography works were mostly intended for the scientific study of Animal locomotion, locomotion, to discov ...
in the 1880s. His revolutionary idea was to record several phases of movement on one photographic surface. In 1890 he published a substantial volume entitled ''Le Vol des Oiseaux'' (''The Flight of Birds''), richly illustrated with photographs, drawings, and diagrams. He also created stunningly precise sculptures of various flying birds. Marey studied other animals too. He published ''La Machine animale'' in 1873 (translated as "Animal Mechanism"). The English photographer
Eadweard Muybridge Eadweard Muybridge ( ; 9 April 1830 â€“ 8 May 1904, born Edward James Muggeridge) was an English photographer known for his pioneering work in photographic studies of motion, and early work in motion-picture Movie projector, projection. He ...
carried out his "Photographic Investigation" in
Palo Alto, California Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...
, to prove that Marey was right when he wrote that a galloping horse for a brief moment had all four hooves off the ground. Muybridge published his photos in 1879 and received some public attention. Marey hoped to merge
anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...
and
physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...
. To better understand his chronophotographic images, he compared them with images of the anatomy,
skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of most animals. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is a rigid outer shell that holds up an organism's shape; the endoskeleton, a rigid internal fra ...
,
joint A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...
s, and muscles of the same species. Marey produced a series of drawings showing a horse trotting and galloping, first in the flesh and then as a skeleton. The presence and activity of Marey in
Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
is well documented, in particular thanks to the documentation preserved in the historical archive of the
Stazione Zoologica The Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn is a research institute in Naples, Italy, devoted to basic research in biology. Research is largely interdisciplinary involving the fields of evolution, biochemistry, molecular biology, neurobiology, cell biol ...
Anton Dohrn. Marey began to travel to Naples presumably because of his relation with madame Vilbort, wife of Joseph Vilbort, the director of the French journal ''
Le Globe ''Le Globe'' was a French newspaper, published in Paris by the Bureau du Globe between 1824 and 1832, and created with the goal of publishing Romantic creations. It was established by Pierre Leroux and the printer Alexandre Lachevardière. Aft ...
''. Madame Vilbort moved to Naples to cure her illness, thanks to the warm climate, and Marey followed her. Marey and madame Vilbort bought villa Maria in
Posillipo Posillipo (; ) is an affluent residential quarter of Naples, southern Italy, located along the northern coast of the Gulf of Naples. From the 1st century BC the Bay of Naples witnessed the rise of villas constructed by elite Romans along the mo ...
in 1880. Marey accomplished in Naples part of his studies aimed at the realization of his pre-cinematographic tools and in the Dohrn zoological station studied the movement of fishes hosted in the aquarium's tanks. In a letter dated 1 November 1876 Marey requested the Stazione Zoologica to provide live ray fishes for his studies. Among the documentation that witnesses the collaboration of Marey with Anton Dohrn is the archive at the zoological station which preserves photos where the two appear together during an excursion and show Marey on board Dohrn's boat. The usage of the chronophotographic gun, which Marey used to aim at birds, but without shooting, appeared unusual to local people who referred to Marey sometimes as the "silly from Posillipo" ("lo scemo di Posillipo"). He proposed "Marey's Law", a law that stated that an increase in
blood pressure Blood pressure (BP) is the pressure of Circulatory system, circulating blood against the walls of blood vessels. Most of this pressure results from the heart pumping blood through the circulatory system. When used without qualification, the term ...
caused a lowering of the heart rate and vice versa. He also invented "Marey's tambour" for physiological experiments.


Chronophotography

Marey's chronophotographic gun was first made in 1882. This instrument was capable of taking 12 consecutive frames a second, with all the frames recorded on the same picture. Using these pictures he studied horses, birds, dogs, sheep, donkeys, elephants, fish, microscopic creatures, molluscs, insects, reptiles, etc. Some call it Marey's "animated zoo". Marey also conducted the famous study about cats always landing on their feet. He conducted very similar studies with a chicken and a dog and found that they could do almost the same. Marey also studied human locomotion. He published another book ''Le Mouvement'' in 1894. In 1885 Marey mentioned how he could playback the animation from his gun using the phenakistiscope. In 1889 he developed the chronophotographe camera which took images on film at even spacing. He however did not manage to play it back as he was unable to move between the frames in an even manner. Edison visited Marey in 1889 and was able to solve the problem using a sprocketed film advance mechanism along with W.L. Dickison who was developing something using the cylindrical model of the phonograph. Towards the end of his life he returned to studying the movement of quite abstract forms, like a falling ball. His last great work was the observation and photography of smoke trails. This research was partially funded by
Samuel Pierpont Langley Samuel Pierpont Langley (August 22, 1834 – February 27, 1906) was an American aviation pioneer, astronomer and physicist who invented the bolometer. He was the third secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and a professor of astronomy a ...
under the auspices of the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
, after the two met in Paris at the
Exposition Universelle (1900) The Exposition Universelle of 1900 (), better known in English as the 1900 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 14 April to 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate develop ...
. In 1901 he was able to build a smoke machine with 58 smoke trails. It became one of the first
aerodynamic Aerodynamics () is the study of the motion of atmosphere of Earth, air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dynamics and its subfield of gas dynamics, and is an ...
wind tunnel A wind tunnel is "an apparatus for producing a controlled stream of air for conducting aerodynamic experiments". The experiment is conducted in the test section of the wind tunnel and a complete tunnel configuration includes air ducting to and f ...
s.


Bibliography

* ''Physiologie médicale de la circulation du sang'' (1863) (Physiology of blood circulation.) * ''Études physiologiques sur les caractères graphiques des battements du cœur'' (1865) (Physiological studies on the graphic characteristics of heartbeats.) * ''Du mouvement dans les fonctions de la vie'' (Movement in the functions of life.) *
Experiments done in his private laboratory
– La Revue scientifique (1866) *
Experiments
done at
Collège de France The (), formerly known as the or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment () in France. It is located in Paris near La Sorbonne. The has been considered to be France's most ...
– Germer-Baillière (1868) * ''Du vol des oiseaux'' (''The flight of birds''), La Revue scientifique 14, 21 August 11 September and 2 October 1869
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* ''La Machine animale. Locomotion terrestre et aérienne'' (The animal machine, terrestrial and aerial locomotion)(1873–1874) * ''Physiologie expérimentale'' (Experimental physiology) (1875) * ''Pression et vitesse du sang'' (Pressure and flow-rate of blood) (1876) * ''Moteurs Animés. Expériences de physiologie graphique'', (A Study in Motion)
La Nature ''La Nature'' (English: ''Nature'') was a French language magazine aimed at the popularization of science established in 1873 by French scientist and adventurer Gaston Tissandier. The magazine also received an enormous amount of time, effort, ...
, N°278 – 28 September 1878 et N°279 – 5 October 1878 * ''La Méthode graphique dans les sciences expérimentales'' (1878)
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* ''La Circulation du sang à l'état physiologique et dans les maladies'' (1881)
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* ''Études pratiques sur la marche de l'homme. Expériences faites à la station physiologique du Parc des Princes.'',
La Nature ''La Nature'' (English: ''Nature'') was a French language magazine aimed at the popularization of science established in 1873 by French scientist and adventurer Gaston Tissandier. The magazine also received an enormous amount of time, effort, ...
, N° 608 – 24 January 1885 * ''Le vol des oiseaux'' (1890) éd. G. Masson â€
Préface
La Revue scientifique, 19 October 1889 * ''Des appareils enregistreurs de la vitesse'',
La Nature ''La Nature'' (English: ''Nature'') was a French language magazine aimed at the popularization of science established in 1873 by French scientist and adventurer Gaston Tissandier. The magazine also received an enormous amount of time, effort, ...
, N°878 – 29 March 1890
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* ''Le vol des insectes étudié par la chronophotographie''.
La Nature ''La Nature'' (English: ''Nature'') was a French language magazine aimed at the popularization of science established in 1873 by French scientist and adventurer Gaston Tissandier. The magazine also received an enormous amount of time, effort, ...
N°974 – 30 Janvier 189
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* ''Mouvements de natation de la raie'',
La Nature ''La Nature'' (English: ''Nature'') was a French language magazine aimed at the popularization of science established in 1873 by French scientist and adventurer Gaston Tissandier. The magazine also received an enormous amount of time, effort, ...
, N°1029 – 18 February 1893
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* ''Le Mouvement Des Liquides Étudié Par La Chronophotographie''
La Nature ''La Nature'' (English: ''Nature'') was a French language magazine aimed at the popularization of science established in 1873 by French scientist and adventurer Gaston Tissandier. The magazine also received an enormous amount of time, effort, ...
, N°1040 – 6 mai 1893
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* avec
Georges Demenÿ Georges Demenÿ (12 June 1850 in Douai – 26 October 1917 in Paris) was a French inventor, chronophotographer, filmmaker, gymnast and physical fitness Physical fitness is a state of health and well-being and, more specifically, the abilit ...
, ''Études de physiologie artistique faites au moyen de la chronophotographie'' (1893) * ''Des mouvements que certains animaux exécutent pour retomber sur leurs pieds, lorsqu'ils sont précipités d'un lieu élevé'',
La Nature ''La Nature'' (English: ''Nature'') was a French language magazine aimed at the popularization of science established in 1873 by French scientist and adventurer Gaston Tissandier. The magazine also received an enormous amount of time, effort, ...
, N°1119 – 10 November 1894
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* ''Le Mouvement'' (1894) * ''La Station physiologique de Paris'', La Revue scientifique, 29 December 1894
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et 6 January 1895
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* ''Analyse des mouvements du cheval par la chronophotographie'',
La Nature ''La Nature'' (English: ''Nature'') was a French language magazine aimed at the popularization of science established in 1873 by French scientist and adventurer Gaston Tissandier. The magazine also received an enormous amount of time, effort, ...
, N°1306 – 11 Juin 189
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See also

*
Eadweard Muybridge Eadweard Muybridge ( ; 9 April 1830 â€“ 8 May 1904, born Edward James Muggeridge) was an English photographer known for his pioneering work in photographic studies of motion, and early work in motion-picture Movie projector, projection. He ...
(1830-1904) *
Chronophotography Chronophotography is a photographic technique from the Victorian era which captures a number of phases of movements. The best known chronophotography works were mostly intended for the scientific study of Animal locomotion, locomotion, to discov ...
* Velocimetry


References


External links

* *
The science of movement and the image of time
online exhibition by th
BIUM (Bibliothèque interuniversitaire de médecine et d'odontologie, Paris)
with the
Collège de France The (), formerly known as the or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment () in France. It is located in Paris near La Sorbonne. The has been considered to be France's most ...
and Pr Marta Braun (Ryerson University), author of ''Picturing Time : The Work of Etienne-Jules Marey'' (University of Chicago Press, 1992)
Movements of Air, Etienne-Jules Marey, Photographer of FluidsPhoto, bibliography, and biography
in the
Virtual Laboratory The online project Virtual Laboratory. Essays and Resources on the Experimentalization of Life, 1830-1930, located at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, is dedicated to research in the history of the experimentalization of life. T ...
of the
Max Planck Institute for the History of Science The Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (German: Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte) is a scientific research institute founded in March 1994. It is dedicated to addressing fundamental questions of the history of knowled ...
*
La machine animale"Bodies Against Time,"
an essay by Zoe Beloff in online magazine ''
Triple Canopy Triple Canopy, Inc., is an American private security company and private military company (PMC) that provides armed security, mission support, and risk management services to corporate and government clients. The firm was founded in May 2003 by ...
''.
Archival Materials on the European Film Gateway PortalLe Vol des Oiseaux
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marey, Etienne-Jules 1830 births 1904 deaths 19th-century French photographers People from Beaune Pioneers of photography French physiologists Members of the French Academy of Sciences Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Academic staff of the Collège de France 19th-century French scientists Commanders of the Legion of Honour Members of the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala