Equisetum hyemale

Front / Recto

Title Equisetum hyemale (Rough Horsetail Enlarged 25 Times) (Equisetum hyemale [Winter-Schachtelhalm in 25facher Vergrößerung])
Negative Date 1898–1928
Print Date 1920–32
Medium Gelatin silver print
Dimensions Image 23 7/16 × 9 5/16" (59.5 × 23.7 cm)
Place Taken Berlin
Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Gift of Thomas Walther
MoMA Accession Number 1627.2001
Copyright © 2015 Karl Blossfeldt / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Mount Type No mount
Marks and Inscriptions
Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, top left: 5 [inscription covered by label] -12/abg. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, top right: (3a). Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, center: Originalabzug von Karl Blossfeldt/u. von ihm unten betitelt [1]. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom: Equisetum hiemale./Winter-Schachtelhalm/25x vergrößert. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom left: Schachtelhalm. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom right: N 88.

[1] "Original print by Karl Blossfeldt and titled by him at the bottom."
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]; to Galerie Ulrich Fiedler, Berlin, c. March 1995 [4]; purchased by Thomas Walther, November 4, 1996 [5]; given to The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
[1] Jürgen Wilde, letter to Simon Bieling, May 12, 2005.
[2] Wilde, letter to Audrey Sands, October 1, 2013.
[3] Ibid.; and Julia Voigtländer (Fiedler Contemporary), e-mail to Bieling, June 14, 2005.
[4] MacGill/Walther 2000, p. 4; and Ulrich Fiedler, letter to Sands, September 16, 2013.
[5] MacGill/Walther 2000, p. 4; and Galerie Ulrich Fiedler invoice no. 806196, November 4, 1996.

Retouch Detail

Detail showing aqueous retouching applied with a brush. The area of detail is 14 x 22 mm. Department of Conservation, MoMA

Detail showing aqueous retouching applied with a brush; pencil retouching, possibly, graphite; and etching. The area of detail is 4 x 7.5 mm. Department of Conservation, MoMA
Surface Sheen Matte
Techniques Retouching (additive)
Retouching (reductive)
Enlargement via lateral projection
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

Format Metric
Weight Single weight
Thickness (mm) 0.17
UV Fluorescence Recto negative
Verso negative
Fiber Analysis Softwood bleached sulfite 41%
Rag 14%
Bast 7%
Grass 39%
Softwood bleached kraft/soda
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: S, Ca, Zn, Sr, Ag, Ba
- Verso: Al, Si, K, 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: Al, Si, S, K, Ca, Ag, Ba

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

Blossfeldt, Karl, and Karl Nierendorf. Urformen der Kunst: Photographische Pflanzenbilder, pl. 2a (as Equisetum hiemale. Winter-Schachtelhalm in 12facher Vergrößerung). Berlin: Ernst Wasmuth A.G., 1928.