Front / Recto

  • Title Self-Portrait (The Constructor)
  • Negative Date 1924
  • Print Date 1924
  • Medium Gelatin silver print
  • Dimensions Image 5 1/2 × 3 1/2" (13.9 × 8.9 cm)
  • Place Taken Moscow
  • Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Gift of Shirley C. Burden, by exchange
  • MoMA Accession Number 1764.2001
  • Copyright © 2015 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

Back / Verso

  • Mount Type No mount - evidence previous mounting
  • Marks and Inscriptions Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom center: 8-. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom center: 076. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom center: EL001CRK.
  • Provenance The artist, Moscow/Hannover. Archiv Nicolas Khardhziev, Moscow [1]; to Galerie & Edition Schlégl (Dr. István Schlégl), Zurich [2]; purchased by Thomas Walther, March 12, 1987 [3]; purchased by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
    [1] Dr. István Schlégl, letter to Thomas Walther, April 4, 1990; and MacGill/Walther 2001(3), p. 13.
    [2] MacGill/Walther 2001(3), p. 13.
    [3] Ibid.; and MacGill/Walther 2000(2), p. 61.

Back Printing

Detail showing Satrap logo printed in ink on the verso of the photograph. In image processing, contrast was adjusted to enhance the readability of the logo. The area of detail is 3 x 3 cm. Department of Conservation, MoMA
Detail showing Satrap logotype printed in ink on the verso of the photograph. In image processing, contrast was adjusted to enhance the readability of the logotype. The area of detail is 1 x 3 cm. Department of Conservation, MoMA

Surface

  • Surface Sheen Semireflective
  • Techniques Contact print
    Photomontage
  • 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

Paper Material

  • Format Unknown
  • Weight Double weight
  • Thickness (mm) 0.29
  • UV Fluorescence Recto negative
    Verso negative
  • Fiber Analysis Softwood bleached sulfite 68%
    Hardwood bleached sulfite 10%
    Grass 13%
    Rag 6%
    Bast 3%
  • Material Techniques Developing-out paper
    Back printing
    Photographic postcard
  • 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: S, Cl, Ca, Zn, Sr, Ag, Ba, Pb
    • Verso or mount: not available

    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), Background (red)
    Elements identified: S, Cl, Ca, Ag, Ba
    Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Background (red)
    Elements identified: Zn, Sr, Ag, Pb

In Context

Related Images

Cover of Franz Roh and Jan Tschichold. Foto-Auge: 76 Fotos der Zeit (Photo-Eye: 76 photos of the time). Stuttgart: F. Wedekind, 1929. The Museum of Modern Art Library, New York. © 2014 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

Historical Publications

  • Schalcher, Traugott. “El Lissitzky, Moskau.” Gebrauchsgraphik 5, no. 12 (December 1928): 49 (as Portrait of himself/Selbstporträt).

    Westheim, Paul. “Zeitlupe.” Das Kunstblatt 12 (March 1928): 89 (as Der Konstrukteur).

    Richter, Hans, and Werner Gräff. Filmgegner von heute—Filmfreunde von morgen, p. 33 (as Selbstbildnis). Berlin: Reckendorf, 1929.

    Roh, Franz, and Jan Tschichold. Foto-Auge: 76 Fotos der Zeit, cover (as Selbstbildnis—Portrait de l’artiste par lui-même—[Picture of Himself]). Stuttgart: Akademischer Verlag Dr. Fritz Wedekind & Co., 1929.

    Stotz, Gustaf, et al. Internationale Ausstellung des Deutschen Werkbunds Film und Foto, p. 36 (as Selbstbildnis). Stuttgart: Deutscher Werkbund, 1929.

    Izofront: Klassovaia borba na fronte prostranstvennykh iskusstv. Moscow: Ogiz-Izogiz, 1931.

    Kepes, György. Language of Vision, p. 226 (as Self Portrait). Chicago: Paul Theobald, 1944.

Historical Exhibitions

  • Städtische Ausstellungshallen, Stuttgart. Internationale Ausstellung des Deutschen Werkbunds Film und Foto (Fifo) (as Selbstbildnis). Organized by Deutscher Werkbund. May 18–July 7, 1929. (traveling exhibition)

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