Hordeum distichum

Front / Recto

Title Hordeum distichum (Two-Rowed Barley Enlarged 4 Times) (Hordeum distichum [Pfauen-oder Reisgerste in 4facher Vergrößerung])
Negative Date 1898–1932
Print Date 1920–32
Medium Gelatin silver print
Dimensions Image 11 5/8 × 9 5/16" (29.6 × 23.7 cm)
Place Taken Berlin
Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Gift of James Thrall Soby, by exchange
MoMA Accession Number 1630.2001
Copyright © 2015 Karl Blossfeldt / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Mount Type Mount
Marks and Inscriptions Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, top left: 20 f6 [illegible]/K 75. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, center: Originalabzug von Karl Blossfeldt/Hordeum distichum/Dez. 95 J. Wilde.
Provenance The artist, Berlin; by inheritance to the artist's estate (the artist's second wife, Helene Blossfeldt), Berlin, 1932 [1]; to the Blossfeldt-Löchner family, Schielo, Germany [2]; to Karl Blossfeldt Archiv/Stiftung Ann und Jürgen Wilde, Zülpich-Mülheim, Germany, 1989 [3]; purchased by Thomas Walther, 1992 [4]; purchased by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
[1] MacGill/Walther 2001(3), p. 3.
[2] Jürgen Wilde, letter to Audrey Sands, October 1, 2013.
[3] MacGill/Walther 2001(3), p. 3; and Wilde, letter to Simon Bieling, May 12, 2005.
[4] MacGill/Walther 2001(3), p. 3.

Retouch Detail

Detail showing etching over aqueous retouching, applied with a brush, and pencil retouching, possibly graphite. The area of detail is 3 x 4 mm. Department of Conservation, MoMA

Detail showing pencil retouching, possibly graphite, and aqueous retouching applied with a brush. The area of detail is 14 x 22 mm. Department of Conservation, MoMA
Surface Sheen Matte
Techniques Retouching (additive)
Retouching (reductive)
Enlargement via lateral projection
PTM

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

Format Metric
Weight Single weight
Thickness (mm) 0.18
UV Fluorescence Recto negative
Verso negative
Fiber Analysis Softwood bleached sulfite 52%
Hardwood bleached sulfite 1%
Rag 17%
Bast 3%
Grass 27%
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: P, S, Ca, Zn, Sr, Ag, Ba
- Verso: Al, Si, K, Ca, Zn, Sr, Ba
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, K, Ca, Ag, Ba

Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Verso or Mount (blue), Background (red)
Elements identified: Zn, Sr, Ag