Front / Recto

  • Title Self-Portrait in Mirror (Selbstporträt im Spiegel)
  • Negative Date 1925–30
  • Print Date 1925–30
  • Medium Gelatin silver print
  • Dimensions Image 5 11/16 × 3 3/4" (14.4 × 9.6 cm)
    Sheet 5 7/8 × 3 7/8" (14.9 × 9.9 cm)
  • Place Taken Dessau
  • Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Acquired through the generosity of Peter Norton
  • MoMA Accession Number 1767.2001

Back / Verso

  • Mount Type No mount
  • Marks and Inscriptions Signed in pencil on sheet verso, center: Otto Lindig. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom center: PF 11843.
  • Provenance The artist; to the estate of a Bauhaus student, Ahrenshoop, Germany [1]; purchased by Egidio Marzona, Berlin/Bielefeld, late 1970s [2]. Photofind Gallery/Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York [3]; purchased by Thomas Walther; purchased by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
    [1] Egidio Marzona, conversation with Thomas Walther, Berlin, April 2014. Marzona does not recall the name of the Bauhaus student or the estate holder from whom he purchased the print.
    [2] Ibid.
    [3] Alicia Colen (Howard Greenberg Gallery), e-mail to Maria Morris Hambourg, November 5, 2013.

Surface

  • Surface Sheen Semireflective
  • Techniques 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 Metric
  • Weight Double weight
  • Thickness (mm) 0.26
  • UV Fluorescence Recto negative
    Verso negative
  • Fiber Analysis Rag 31%
    Bast 68%
    Softwood bleached sulfite 1%
    Grass 1%
  • Material Techniques Printing-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, Zn, Sr, Ag, Ba, Pb
    • Verso: Al, Si, P, S, Ca, Fe, Zn, 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, Ca, Fe, Ag, Ba
    Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Verso or Mount (blue), Background (red)
    Elements identified: Fe, Zn, Sr, Ag, Pb

In Context

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Otto Lindig. Tea Service. c. 1926. Glazed earthenware. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Architecture & Design Purchase Fund

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