Front / Recto

  • Title Untitled
  • Negative Date 1923–25
  • Print Date 1923–35
  • Medium Gelatin silver print
  • Dimensions Image 8 11/16 × 8 9/16" (22.1 × 21.8 cm)
  • Place Taken Prague
  • Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Horace W. Goldsmith Fund through Robert B. Menschel
  • MoMA Accession Number 1846.2001
  • Copyright © 2015 Sylva Vitove-Rösslerova

Back / Verso

  • Mount Type No mount - evidence previous mount
  • Marks and Inscriptions Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, top center: RMG 382.42. Stamped in blue ink on sheet verso, center: JAROSLAV/RÖSSLER/PRAHA 3/KONĚVOVA 181. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom center: PF 29323H. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom center: 8225.
  • Provenance The artist, Prague; to Galerie Rudolf Kicken (Wilhelm Schürmann), Cologne, 1982 [1]; to Robert Miller Gallery, New York [2]; to Dr. Samuel Weiss [3]; to Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York [4]; purchased by Thomas Walther, November 9, 1999 [5]; purchased by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
    [1] Rudolf Kicken, conversation with Simon Bieling, Kicken Berlin, February 17, 2004; and Kicken, telephone conversation with Bieling, June 22, 2004. Schürmann was Kicken's former partner.
    [2] Robert Miller Gallery archival no. RMG 382.42 on sheet verso; and Howard Greenberg Gallery invoice no. 99-974, November 9, 1999.
    [3] Greenberg invoice.
    [4] Ibid.
    [5] Ibid.

Surface

  • Surface Sheen Semireflective
  • 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 43%
    Grass 52%
    Rag 4%
    Bast 1%
  • 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
    • Verso: Al, Si, S, K, Ca, Fe, 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, 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

In Context

Related People

Related Links

For best results, please enable JavaScript.