Front / Recto

  • Title Six at the Beach (Sechs am Strand)
  • Negative Date 1930
  • Print Date 1930–33
  • Medium Gelatin silver print
  • Dimensions Image 9 3/8 × 7 1/8" (23.8 × 18.1 cm)
    Sheet 9 7/16 × 7 1/8" (24 × 18.1 cm)
  • Place Taken Berlin
  • Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Gift of Shirley C. Burden, by exchange
  • MoMA Accession Number 1890.2001
  • Copyright © 2015 Umbo / Gallery Kicken Berlin / Phyllis Umbehr / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

Back / Verso

  • Mount Type No mount
  • Marks and Inscriptions Stamped in black ink on sheet verso, top right: Copyright by/DEUTSCHER PHOTO-DIENST/Berlin W 8 Jägerstr. 11/Tel.: A 4 Zentrum 1806-1807/als Photograph zu nennen:/DEPHOT [entire stamp up to DEPHOT is crossed out]/[inscribed in pencil: Phot] UMBO. Stamped in black ink over Dephot stamp: ANGLO-CONTINENTAL. Label affixed to sheet verso, center: COSMO-PHOTO/AGENCE DE PHOTOS DE PRESSE/19, Rue de l'Atlas, 19/PARIS-19e [with rectangular outline]. Inscribed in red pencil on sheet verso, bottom center: 44. Sechs am Strand. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom left: P.M.S.
  • Provenance The artist; to Anglo-Continental, Paris, 1933 [1]; to Photo-Archives Service, Paris, 1933–40 [2]; to Herbert Molderings, Paris, 1980s [3]; purchased by Thomas Walther, May 10, 1995 [4]; purchased by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
    [1] Herbert Molderings, letter to Maria Morris Hambourg, October 1, 2013.
    [2] Ibid.
    [3] Ibid.; and MacGill/Walther 2000, p. 39.
    [4] MacGill/Walther 2000(2), p. 47.

Surface

  • Surface Sheen Glossy
  • Techniques Enlargement
  • 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 Single weight
  • Thickness (mm) 0.18
  • UV Fluorescence Recto negative
    Verso negative
  • Fiber Analysis Softwood bleached sulfite 92%
    Rag 6%
    Bast 2%
  • 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, S, Ca, 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, S, Ca, Ag, Ba
    Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Verso or Mount (blue), Background (red)
    Elements identified: Zn, Sr, Ag, Pb

In Context

Related Images

Umbo (Otto Umbehr). Self-Portrait at the Beach. c. 1930. Gelatin silver print, 11 7/16 x 8 9/16" (29 x 21.8 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Purchase. © 2014 Umbo/Gallery Kicken Berlin/Phyllis Umbehr/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

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