Front / Recto

  • Title The Sculptor Renée Sintenis (Die Bildhauerin Renée Sintenis)
  • Negative Date 1925
  • Print Date 1925–35
  • Medium Gelatin silver print
  • Dimensions Image 8 7/8 × 6 13/16" (22.6 × 17.3 cm)
  • Place Taken Berlin
  • Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Bequest of Gertrude Palmer, by exchange
  • MoMA Accession Number 1824.2001

Back / Verso

  • Mount Type No mount
  • Marks and Inscriptions Signed on the negative, appears on sheet recto, bottom-right corner: Riess. Stamped in black ink on sheet verso, center: Rieß/Berlin W.50/Kurfürstendamm 14/15. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom center: Die Bildhauerin/Renée Sintenis. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom left: 1650. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom right: TW 890101.
  • Provenance The artist. Possibly Willem Diepraam, Amsterdam [1]; to Galerie Berinson, Berlin [2]; purchased by Thomas Walther, probably January 1989 [3]; purchased by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
    [1] MacGill/Walther 2001(3), p. 18; and Hendrik Berinson, conversation with Bieling, Galerie Berinson, Berlin, February 18, 2005.
    [2] MacGill/Walther 2001(3), p. 18.
    [3] Thomas Walther archival no. TW 890101 on sheet verso.

Surface

  • Surface Sheen Semireflective
  • Techniques Retouching (additive)
    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 Double weight
  • Thickness (mm) 0.26
  • UV Fluorescence Recto negative
    Verso negative
  • Fiber Analysis Softwood bleached sulfite 41%
    Bast 2%
    Grass 52%
    Cotton 5%
  • 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, Ca, Zn, Rb, Sr, Ag, Ba
    • Verso: Al, Si, P, 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, K, Ca, Ag, Ba
    Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Verso or Mount (blue), Background (red)
    Elements identified: Fe, Zn, Rb, Sr, Ag, Pb

In Context

Related Images

Renée Sintenis. Self-Portrait. 1925. Drypoint. Plate: 8 9/16 x 6 9/16" (21.8 x 16.7 cm); sheet: 18 11/16 x 13 11/16" (47.4 x 34.8 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. © 2014 Renée Sintenis/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/VG Bild-Kunst, Germany
Renée Sintenis. Daphne. 1930. Bronze, 58 3/4" (149.2 cm) high, including the sandstone base. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Fund. © 2014 Renée Sintenis/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/VG Bild-Kunst, Germany
Spread from in Der Querschnitt 5, no. 10 (October 1925). Right: Frieda Gertrud Riess. Renée Sintenis

Historical Publications

  • Der Querschnitt 5, no. 10 (October 1925): insert facing p. 864 (as Renée Sintenis).

    Flechtheim, Alfred. Rieß: Austellung in der Galerie Flechtheim, cat. 144 (as Renée Sintenis). Berlin: Otto v. Holten, 1925.

Historical Exhibitions

  • Galerie Flechtheim, Berlin. Rieß (no. 144, as Renée Sintenis). November 1925.

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