Taking involuntary deep breath while solving multiplication problem, 1879, Plate 20 from The First Time, The Heart (A Portrait of Life 1854-1913), Dario Robleto, 2017
Dario Robleto, portraitDario RobletoAmerican, 1972

Taking involuntary deep breath while solving multiplication problem, 1879, Plate 20 from The First Time, The Heart (A Portrait of Life 1854-1913)

2017 · Print

Can I see it?

Not on view at present

Where is “Taking involuntary deep breath while solving multiplication problem, 1879, Plate 20 from The First Time, The Heart (A Portrait of Life 1854-1913)” now? Collection: Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Minneapolis, United States

It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.

Checked
In this state since
Source
The museum

About the work

Dario Robleto’s print portfolio The First Time, The Heart: A Portrait of Life 1854-1913 is equal parts art, science, and historical narrative. The portfolio consists of an extended series of images of heartbeat waveform recordings originating from the 19th and early 20th centuries, a period when scientists perfected their ability to detect and measure the human heartbeat. Each heartbeat waveform is accompanied by a descriptive text detailing the conditions or emotional circumstances under which the recording was made. The sequencing of images within the installation may vary, representing a unique creative and conceptual collaboration with the artist.

Read on

Robleto said of his heartbeat project: “The human quest to represent our bodily form is ancient. From the earliest known cave drawings tracing the curvature of a hand, the masterworks of the human figure by Leonardo di Vinci, even modern medical imaging that maps the terrain of our brains at the level of the neuron, humans have yearned to understand themselves and others through marks and images. Perhaps this deep-rooted desire found its most essential form through the invention of an image we often take for granted, and which for the first time in history gave us visual access to the living heart: the pulse wave.”

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Details

Accession number
2018.78.20

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On view at Minneapolis Institute of Art

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