Front / Recto

  • Title I Decided to Jump Headfirst from the series I Photograph Myself during a Parachute Jump (Ich fotografiere mich beim Absturz mit dem Fallschirm) (Ich entschlosse mich zu einem hechtsprungartigen Absprung)
  • Negative Date 1931
  • Print Date 1931
  • Medium Gelatin silver print
  • Dimensions Image 8 1/16 × 5 9/16" (20.4 × 14.2 cm)
    Sheet 9 7/16 × 6 15/16" (23.9 × 17.7 cm)
  • Place Taken Berlin
  • Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Gift of Thomas Walther
  • MoMA Accession Number 1849.2001.6

Back / Verso

  • Mount Type No mount
  • Marks and Inscriptions

    Label affixed to sheet verso, center, with text printed in black ink: Ich fotografiere mich beim Absturz mit dem Fallschirm./Der Fotograf springt mit dem Fallschirm ab./a) Um die sichtlich geglückte Aufnahme meines Kollegen zu ver-/vollständigen, entschloss ich mich zu einem hechtsprungartigen Ab-/sprung [1]./Copyright by Fotoaktuell GmbH. Berlin SW. 68, Markgrafenstr. 87. Inscribed in blue ink on sheet verso, top right: 115. Stamped in green ink on sheet verso, top right: "FREUDENBERG"/Bilderdienst/zürich/Lunastr. 6 Postfach Neumünster [with rectangular outline]. Stamped in green ink on sheet verso, bottom right: ORIGINALBILD/bitte zurück.

    [1] "I photograph myself during a parachute jump. The photographer jumps with a parachute. a) in order to make my colleague’s photograph more successful visually I decided to jump headfirst."
  • Provenance The artist, Berlin; to Vertrieb für Pressephotos (Christoph Netzle), Zurich, probably 1931 [1]; to Freudenberg GmbH (Hans Guggenbühl and Guido A. Pozzi), after 1930 and possibly in summer 1945 [2]; to Internationale Bilderagentur (Dr. Heinz Müller), Oberengstringen, Switzerland, 1945–47 [3]; to Dr. Roland Müller, Brugg, Switzerland, possibly February 1971 [4]; sold through Christie's New York (sale 8982, lot 272) to Michael Shapiro Gallery, San Francisco, October 6, 1998 [5]; purchased by Thomas Walther, 1998 [6]; given to The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
    [1] Roland Müller, e-mail to Simon Bieling, April 16, 2005.
    [2] Ibid. This series was acquired in a lot comprising one to two hundred thousand photographs.
    [3] Ibid.
    [4] Ibid.
    [5] MacGill/Walther 2001(4), p. 12; and Shapiro Gallery invoice no. 98-158, October 9, 1998. The series was purchased from Christie's by the gallery on behalf of Thomas Walther.
    [6] Shapiro invoice.

Surface

  • Surface Sheen Glossy
  • Techniques Ferrotyping
    Copy 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

Paper Material

  • Format Metric
  • Weight Single weight
  • Thickness (mm) 0.18
  • UV Fluorescence Recto negative
    Verso negative
  • Fiber Analysis Softwood bleached sulfite 16%
    Rag 77%
    Bast 6%
    Softwood bleached kraft/soda 1%
  • 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: Al, P, S, Ca, Zn, Sr, Ag, Ba
    • Verso: Al, Si, S, K, Ca, Zn, Sr, Ag, 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, P, S, K, Ca, Ag, Ba
    Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Verso or Mount (blue), Background (red)
    Elements identified: Zn, Sr, Ag

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