Naftaly Rubinstein, Warsaw

Front / Recto

Title Naftaly Rubinstein, Warsaw
Negative Date May 1928
Print Date 1928–32
Medium Gelatin silver print
Dimensions Image 4 1/4 × 3 1/4" (10.8 × 8.2 cm)
Sheet 4 5/16 × 3 5/16" (11 × 8.4 cm)
Place Taken Warsaw
Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Gift of Thomas Walther
MoMA Accession Number 1660.2001
Copyright © 2015 Erich Comeriner Archiv/Galerie David, Bielefeld

Mount Type No mount - evidence previous mount
Marks and Inscriptions Inscribed in blue ink across entire sheet verso: [illegible]/mai 1928/naphtaly rubinstein/warsawa/ul. leszno 6m. 5/foto: comeriner. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, top left: Dargestellter:/Naftaly Rubinstein, Warschau. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom right: TW 880204.
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]; to Prakapas Gallery, Bronxville, N.Y. [3]; purchased by Thomas Walther, February 1988 [4]; given to The Museum of Modern Art, New York,
2001.
[1] Egidio Marzona, conversation with Thomas Walther, Berlin, April 2014.
[2] Ibid.; and William F. Cuozzi (on behalf of Dorothy Augusta Prakapas), letter to Maria Morris Hambourg, October 2013.
[3] MacGill/Walther 2000, p. 8.
[4] Thomas Walther archival no. TW 880204 on sheet verso.

Surface Sheen Semireflective
Techniques Contact print
Double exposure
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 Imperial, Metric
UV Fluorescence Recto negative
Verso negative
Fiber Analysis Softwood bleached sulfite 47%
Hardwood bleached sulfite 3%
Rag 41%
Bast 6%
Softwood bleached kraft/soda 3%
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, Br, Sr, Ag, Ba, Pb
- Mount: Al, Si, S, K, Ca, Fe, Zn, Br, Sr, Ba, Pb
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: Fe, Zn, Br, Sr, Ag, Pb