Front / Recto

  • Title Untitled (Self-Portrait)
  • Negative Date 1926
  • Print Date 1926–35
  • Medium Gelatin silver print
  • Dimensions Image 3 1/2 × 2 9/16" (8.9 × 6.5 cm)
    Sheet 3 1/2 × 2 5/8" (8.9 × 6.7 cm)
  • Place Taken Moscow
  • Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Abbott-Levy Collection funds, by exchange
  • MoMA Accession Number 1741.2001
  • Copyright © 2015 / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Back / Verso

  • Mount Type No mount - evidence previous mounting
  • Marks and Inscriptions Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, center: 1926.
  • Provenance The artist; to the artist’s son, Edvard Gustavovic Kulagin [1]; to Priska Pasquer, Photographic Art Consulting, Cologne [2]; purchased by Thomas Walther, October 1, 1997 [3]; purchased by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
    [1] MacGill/Walther 2001(3), p. 10.
    [2] Ibid.
    [3] Priska Pasquer, Photographic Art Consulting invoice, October 1, 1997.

Surface

  • Surface Sheen Semireflective
  • Techniques Coating
    Contact 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 Unknown
  • UV Fluorescence Recto negative
    Verso negative
  • Fiber Analysis Softwood bleached sulfite 56%
    Grass 44%
  • Material Techniques Developing-out paper
    Back printing
    Photographic postcard
  • 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, K, Ca, Zn, Rb, Sr, Ag, Ba
    • Verso: Al, Si, S, K, Ca, Fe, Zn, Rb, 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, Rb, Sr, Ag

In Context

Related People

Related Links

Related Essays

For best results, please enable JavaScript.