Front / Recto

  • Title Untitled
  • Negative Date 1924
  • Print Date 1924–35
  • Medium Gelatin silver print with pencil and black ink
  • Dimensions Image 9 1/2 x 9" (24.1 x 22.8 cm)
  • Place Taken Prague
  • Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Robert B. Menschel Fund, by exchange
  • MoMA Accession Number 1845.2001
  • Copyright © 2015 Sylva Vitove-Rösslerova

Back / Verso

  • Marks and Inscriptions Cables in image on sheet recto traced with pencil. Inscribed in red pencil on sheet verso, top left: [illegible] [underlined]. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, top center: [illegible] [erased]. Stamped in black ink on sheet verso, top right: 34 and 32. Inscribed in red pencil on sheet verso, center: 205–46/469–17 [underlined]. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, center: Rössler/fotografie [crossed out]. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom center: 7 1/2 cm [single horizontal brace underneath stretching from left to right of sheet].
  • Provenance The artist, Prague; to the artist's estate, Prague [1]; to Galerie Rudolf Kicken (Wilhelm Schürmann), Cologne [2]; to Galerie Octant (Alain Paviot), Paris, 1980–85 [3]; purchased by Thomas Walther, 1985 [4]; purchased by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
    [1] MacGill/Walther 2001(3), p. 20.
    [2] Ibid.
    [3] MacGill/Walther 2000, p. 32; and Alain Paviot, conversation with Maria Morris Hambourg, Paris, September 2013.
    [4] Paviot, conversation with Hambourg; and Paviot, letter to Thomas Walther, June 1, 1986. The latter contains an inventory of their transactions from Art Basel in 1985.

Surface

  • Retouch Detail
    Detail showing aqueous retouching applied with a brush. The area of detail is 11.5 x 18 mm. Department of Conservation, MoMA
    Detail showing aqueous retouching applied with a brush. The area of detail is 11.5 x 18 mm. Department of Conservation, MoMA
  • Surface Sheen Semireflective
  • Techniques Retouching (additive)
    Retouching (reductive)
    Photomontage
  • 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 Unknown
  • Weight Double weight
  • Thickness (mm) 0.26
  • UV Fluorescence Recto negative
    Verso negative
  • Fiber Analysis Softwood bleached sulfite 72%
    Hardwood bleached sulfite 2%
    Rag 3%
    Grass 23%
  • 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: S, Ca, Zn, Sr, Ag, Ba, Pb
    • Verso: Al, Si, S, K, 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, S, K, Ca, Ag, Ba
    Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Verso or Mount (blue), Background (red)
    Elements identified: Fe, Zn, Sr, Ag, Pb

In Context

Related Images

Jaroslav Rössler. Kopirna. 1923–24. Gelatin silver print, 7 1/16 x 6 7/8" (18 x 17.5 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Acquired through the generosity of Harriette and Noel Levine. © Sylva Vitove-Rösslerova

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