Front / Recto

  • Title Play of Light Around a Chair (Lichtspiel um einen Stuhl)
  • Negative Date 1931
  • Print Date 1955–69
  • Medium Gelatin silver print
  • Dimensions Image 6 3/4 × 8 15/16" (17.1 × 22.7 cm)
  • Place Taken Berlin
  • Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Horace W. Goldsmith Fund through Robert B. Menschel
  • MoMA Accession Number 1691.2001
  • Copyright © 2015 Raoul Hausmann / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Back / Verso

  • Mount Type No mount
  • Marks and Inscriptions Inscribed in black ink on sheet verso, top left: RH 31. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom left: TW 861004.
  • Provenance The artist, Berlin. The artist’s daughter, Vera Hausmann, Berlin [2]; to Cornelia Frenkel, Freiburg, Germany [3]; purchased by Thomas Walther, October 4, 1986 [4]; purchased by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
    [1] MacGill/Walther 2001(3), p. 8.
    [2] Ibid.
    [3] Ibid.
    [4] Ibid.; and Thomas Walther archival no. TW 861004 on sheet verso.

Surface

  • Surface Sheen Semireflective
  • Techniques Enlargement
  • 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 Metric
  • Weight Single weight
  • Thickness (mm) 0.16
  • UV Fluorescence Recto positive
    Verso positive
  • Fiber Analysis Softwood bleached sulfite 92%
    Hardwood bleached sulfite 6%
    Softwood bleached kraft 2%
  • 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, S, 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, P, S, Ca, Br, Ag, Ba
    Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Verso or Mount (blue), Background (red)
    Elements identified: Zn, Sr, Ag

In Context

Related Images

Raoul Hausmann. Light Play around a Chair (Lichtspiel um einen Stuhl). 1931. Gelatin silver print, 6 7/8 x 9 3/8" (17.4 x 23.8 cm). Berlinische Galerie. © 2014 Raoul Hausmann/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris

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