Untitled

Front / Recto

Title Untitled (Bauhaus Theater)
Negative Date March 16, 1927
Print Date 1927–35
Medium Gelatin silver print
Dimensions Image 3 x 4 1/8" (7.6 x 10.5 cm)
Sheet 3 1/8 × 4 1/4" (7.9 × 10.8 cm)
Place Taken Dessau
Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Gift of Thomas Walther
MoMA Accession Number 1613.2001

Mount Type No mount - evidence previous mount
Marks and Inscriptions Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, center: IRENE BAYER [oriented upside down with respect to image]. Inscribed in blue ink on sheet verso, bottom left: foto: irene bayer-hecht [oriented upside down with respect to image]. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom right: TW 840302 [oriented upside down with respect to image]. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom right: 0R [oriented upside down with respect to image].
Provenance The artist; to Alma Siedhoff-Buscher (1899–1944), Frankfurt; by inheritance to the estate of Alma Siedhoff-Buscher (Joost and Lore Siedhoff), Frankfurt, 1944 [1]; purchased by Egidio Marzona, Berlin/Bielefeld, 1978–79 [2]; purchased by Ex Libris (Arthur Cohen and Elaine Lustig Cohen), New York, c. 1980 [3]; purchased by Thomas Walther, March 1984 [4]; given to The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
[1] Egidio Marzona, conversation with Thomas Walther, Berlin, April 2014.
[2] MacGill/Walther 2001(4), p. 1; Elaine Lustig Cohen, e-mail to Simon Bieling, April 4, 2005; and Marzona, conversation with Bieling, Berlin, August 2005.
[3] MacGill/Walther 2001(4), p. 1. Arthur Cohen and Elaine Lustig Cohen mounted an exhibition of Foto-Auge photographs at Ex Libris, in New York, c. 1980.
[4] Ibid.; Thomas Walther archival no. TW 840302 on sheet verso; and Ex Libris invoice no. 7895, March 12, 1984.

Surface Sheen Semireflective
Techniques Contact print
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 Unknown
Weight Single weight
Thickness (mm) 0.20
UV Fluorescence Recto negative
Verso negative
Fiber Analysis Softwood bleached sulfite 30%
Softwood bleached sulfite
Rag 20%
Bast 6%
Grass 43%
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, Pb
- Verso: Mg, Al, Si, S, Ca, Fe, 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: Mg, Al, Si, P, S, Ca, Ag, Ba

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