Front / Recto

  • Title Cloud, Mexico
  • Negative Date July 1924
  • Print Date 1924
  • Medium Palladium print
  • Dimensions Image 6 15/16 x 9 7/16" (17.6 x 23.9 cm)
    Mount
  • Place Taken Mexico City
  • Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Gift of David H. McAlpin, by exchange
  • MoMA Accession Number 1910.2001
  • Copyright © 1981 Center for Creative Photography, Arizona Board of Regents.

Back / Verso

  • Mount Type No mount
  • Provenance The artist; possibly to the artist’s sister, Mary Weston Seaman, and her son [1]; possibly to Daniel Wolf Inc., New York, January 1981 [2]; to Ezra Mack, Greenwich, Conn. [3]; purchased by Thomas Walther; purchased by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
    [1] Amy Conger, e-mail to Simon Bieling, December 4, 2006.
    [2] Ibid.
    [3] MacGill/Walther 2000, p. 42.

Surface

  • Surface Sheen Matte
  • Techniques Retouching (additive)
    Contact print
    Toning
  • 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 Metric
  • UV Fluorescence Recto negative
    Verso negative
  • Fiber Analysis Rag 86%
    Bast 14%
  • Material Techniques Palladium print
  • XRF

    This work was determined to be a palladium 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: Mg, Al, Si, P, Ca, Cr, Mn, Fe, Zn, Pd, Hg
    • Verso: Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Cr, Mn, Fe, Zn, Hg

    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: Mg, Al, Si, P, Ca, Cr, Pd
    Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Verso or Mount (blue), Background (red)
    Elements identified: Mn, Fe, Zn, Hg

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