Front / Recto

  • Title Violent Intervention (Cut Paper Abstraction)
  • Negative Date 1925–29
  • Print Date 1925–29
  • Medium Gelatin silver print
  • Dimensions Image 9 7/16 x 7 7/16" (24 x 18.9 cm)
  • Place Taken New York
  • Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Abbott-Levy Collection funds, by exchange
  • MoMA Accession Number 1644.2001
  • Copyright © 1991 Kenneth H. Bruguière and Kathleen Bruguière Anderson

Back / Verso

  • Mount Type No mount
  • Marks and Inscriptions Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, top left: 12 [circled]. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, top center: ↑ top. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, center: Book Jacket [crossed out]. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, center: 4074. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, center right: [illegible]. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom center: Violent Intervention/?. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom right: TW 860701.
  • Provenance The artist, New York. Anthony d'Offay, London [1]; to Robert Miller Gallery, New York, 1986 [2]; purchased by Thomas Walther, July 14, 1986 [3]; purchased by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
    [1] Royce Howes (Robert Miller Gallery), e-mail to Simon Bieling, June 7, 2005.
    [2] MacGill/Walther 2001(3), p. 5.
    [3] Robert Miller Gallery invoice no. 3665P, July 14, 1986, annotated with Thomas Walther archival no. TW 860701.

Surface

  • Surface Sheen Semireflective
  • Techniques Retouching (additive)
  • 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 Imperial
  • Weight Single weight
  • Thickness (mm) 0.19
  • UV Fluorescence Recto negative
    Verso negative
  • Fiber Analysis Softwood bleached sulfite 31%
    Hardwood bleached sulfite 2%
    Rag 45%
    Bast 22%
  • 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, Cl, Ca, Zn, Sr, Ag, Ba
    • Verso: Al, Si, S, 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, P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ag, Ba
    Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Verso or Mount (blue), Background (red)
    Elements identified: Fe, Zn, Sr, Ag

In Context

Related Images

Francis Bruguière. Light Abstraction. c. 1925. Gelatin silver print, 9 15/16 x 7 15/16" (25.2 x 20.2 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Arnold Newman. © 1991 Kenneth H. Brugière and Kathleen Brugière Anderson
Francis Bruguière. Untitled. c. 1928–29. Gelatin silver print, 10 5/8 x 7 5/8" (24.4 x 19.3 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. David H. McAlpin Fund. © 1991 Kenneth H. Brugière and Kathleen Brugière Anderson

Historical Publications

  • Bruguière, Francis, and Lance Sieveking. Beyond This Point, p. 75 (as untitled photograph in chapter B.1, "Violet Intervention"). London: Duckworth, 1929.

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