Front / Recto

  • Title A Fish Called Sierra (Un pez que llaman sierra)
  • Negative Date 1944
  • Print Date 1944–50
  • Medium Gelatin silver print
  • Dimensions Image 9 1/2 x 7 1/4" (24.1 x 18.4 cm)
    Mount 17 3/4 × 14 1/16" (45.1 × 35.7 cm)
  • Place Taken Mexico City
  • Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Edward Steichen Estate and gift of Mrs. Flora S. Straus, by exchange
  • MoMA Accession Number 1605.2001
  • Copyright © 2015 Estate of Manuel Alvarez Bravo / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Back / Verso

  • Mount Type Mount (original)
  • Marks and Inscriptions Signed in pencil on mount recto, bottom right: M. Alvarez Bravo,/México.
  • Provenance The artist, Mexico City; to the Photo League, New York, by 1950 [1]; to Jack Lessinger (1911–1987), New York, by 1951 [2]; to Photofind Gallery/Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York, 1987 [3]; purchased by Thomas Walther, August 11, 1988 [4]; purchased by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
    [1] MacGill/Walther 2001(3), p. 4. It is likely that this print was included in the second show of the artist's works organized by Jack Lessinger at the Photo League Gallery, January 10–February 1, 1950.
    [2] Ibid. The Photo League closed in 1951.
    [3] Ibid.; and Alicia Colen (Howard Greenberg Gallery), e-mail to Maria Morris Hambourg, October 25, 2013.
    [4] Photofind Gallery Inc., bill of sale, August 11, 1998.

Surface

  • Retouch Detail
    Detail showing aqueous retouching, probably applied with a brush, on forehead and cheek. The area of detail is 14 x 22 mm. Department of Conservation, MoMA
  • Surface Sheen Semireflective
  • Techniques Mount
    Retouching (additive)
  • PTM
    Detail view of the recto of the artwork made using reflectance transformation imaging (RTI) software, which exaggerates subtle surface details and renders the features of the artwork plainly visible. Department of Conservation, MoMA
  • Micro-raking
    Raking-light close-up image, as shot. Area of detail is 6.7 x 6.7 mm. Department of Conservation, MoMA
    Raking-light close-up image, processed. Processing included removal of color, equalization of the histogram, and sharpening, all designed to enhance visual comparison. Department of Conservation, MoMA

Paper Material

  • Format Imperial
  • UV Fluorescence Recto negative
    Verso negative
  • Fiber Analysis No fiber data available
  • Material Techniques Developing-out paper
  • XRF

    This work was determined to be a gelatin silver print via X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry.

    The following elements have been positively identified in the work, through XRF readings taken from its recto and verso (or from the mount, where the verso was not accessible):

    • Recto: Al, Si, P, S, Ca, Zn, Sr, Ag, Ba, Pb
    • Mount: Al, Si, P, S, Ca, Ti, Fe, Zn, Pb

    The graphs below show XRF spectra for three areas on the print: two of the recto—from areas of maximum and minimum image density (Dmax and Dmin)—and one of the verso or mount. The background spectrum represents the contribution of the XRF instrument itself. The first graph shows elements identified through the presence of their characteristic peaks in the lower energy range (0 to 8 keV). The second graph shows elements identified through the presence of their characteristic peaks in the higher energy range (8 to 40 keV).

    Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Verso or Mount (blue), Background (red)
    Elements identified: Al, Si, P, S, Ca, Ti, Ag, Ba
    Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Verso or Mount (blue), Background (red)
    Elements identified: Fe, Zn, Sr, Ag, Pb

In Context

Historical Exhibitions

  • Third exhibition of the Sociedad de Arte Moderno, Mexico City. Manuel Álvarez Bravo: Fotografías (no. 33, as Un pez que llaman sierra). July 1945.

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