Front / Recto

  • Title Acanthus mollis (Soft Acanthus, Bear's Breeches. Bracteoles with the Flowers Removed, Enlarged 4 Times) (Acanthus mollis [Akanthus, Bärenklau. Deckblätter, die Blüten sind entfernt, in 4facher Vergrößerung])
  • Negative Date 1898–1928
  • Print Date 1920–32
  • Medium Gelatin silver print
  • Dimensions Image 11 3/4 × 9 3/8" (29.8 × 23.8 cm)
  • Place Taken Berlin
  • Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Gift of Thomas Walther
  • MoMA Accession Number 1625.2001
  • Copyright © 2015 Karl Blossfeldt / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Back / Verso

  • Mount Type No mount
  • Marks and Inscriptions Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, top left: 90/K 75. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom center: Acanthus mollis./Akanthus, Löwenklau/Deckblätter/Die Blüten sind entfernt/4x vergröß.
  • Provenance The artist, Berlin; by inheritance to the artist's estate (the artist's second wife, Helene Blossfeldt), Berlin, 1932 [1]; to the Blossfeldt-Löchner family, Schielo, Germany [2]; to Karl Blossfeldt Archiv/Stiftung Ann und Jürgen Wilde, Zülpich-Mülheim, Germany, 1989 [3]; purchased by Thomas Walther, 1992 [4]; given to The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
    [1] MacGill/Walther 2001(4), p. 1.
    [2] Jürgen Wilde, letter to Audrey Sands, October 1, 2013.
    [3] MacGill/Walther 2001(4), p. 1; and Wilde, letter to Simon Bieling, May 12, 2005.
    [4] MacGill/Walther 2001(4), p. 1.

Surface

  • Retouch Detail
    Detail showing pencil retouching, possibly graphite. The area of detail is 14 x 22 mm. Department of Conservation, MoMA
    Detail showing pencil retouching, possibly graphite, and etching. The area of detail is 14 x 22 mm. Department of Conservation, MoMA
  • Surface Sheen Matte
  • Techniques Retouching (additive)
    Retouching (reductive)
    Enlargement via lateral projection
  • 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 50%
    Grass 27%
    Rag 18%
    Bast 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, 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, P, 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 Images

Spread from Das Deutsche Lichtbild: Jahresschau 1933. Berlin: Robert & Bruno Schultz, 1933. Left: Julius Arnfeld. Pfau. Right: Prof. Karl Blossfeldt. Bärenklaudeckblätter. © 2014 Karl Blossfeldt/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Historical Publications

  • Blossfeldt, Karl, and Karl Nierendorf. Urformen der Kunst: Photographische Pflanzenbilder, pl. 92 (as Acanthus Mollis. Akanthus, Bärenklau. Deckblätter, die Blüten Sind entfernt, in 4facher Vergrößerung). Berlin: Ernst Wasmuth A.G., 1928.

    Das Deutsche Lichtbild: Jahresschau 1933, p. 153 (as Bärenklaudeckblätter). Berlin: Robert & Bruno Schultz, 1933.

Historical Exhibitions

  • Städtische Ausstellungshallen, Stuttgart. Internationale Ausstellung des Deutschen Werkbunds Film und Foto (Fifo). Organized by Deutscher Werkbund. May 18-July 7, 1929. (traveling exhibition)

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