Etienne-Jules Marey (1830-1904)Triangular prism presenting one of its bases to the air stream, fourth and lastversion of the smoke machine equipped with 57 channels1901© Cinémathèque française
"Etienne-Jules Marey (1830-1904) - physiologist, doctor, biomechanics engineer and inventor in 1882 of chronophotography, a technique anticipating cinematography. He devoted three years at the end of his life, from 1899 to 1909, to photographing movements of air.
The beauty and enigmatic character of his shots of smoke are striking to today's visitors, but they also raise numerous questions. Why were these pictures produced ? What was the purpose of the research and with what techniques were they conducted ? Why did he turn to instant photography at a time (1899-1902) when chronophotography and cinematography were already commonly used ? To understand this, one has to go back to the origins of the technique that dominated the physiologist's life and work: the graphic method."
From Musée d'Orsay
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