Front / Recto

  • Title Roll Film Holder
  • Negative Date 1916–17
  • Print Date 1916–17
  • Medium Platinum print
  • Dimensions Image 6 1/4" (15.9 cm)
    Mount 18 × 12 7/16" (45.7 × 31.6 cm)
  • Place Taken New York
  • Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Gift of Thomas Walther
  • MoMA Accession Number 1703.2001

Back / Verso

  • Mount Type Mount (original)
  • Provenance The artist, New York; to Max Weber (1881–1961), New York [1]; to Weber’s daughter, Joy Weber, New Mexico [2]; to Keith de Lellis, New York [3]; purchased by Thomas Walther, May 12, 1995 [4]; given to The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
    [1] Keith de Lellis, telephone conversation with Simon Bieling, March 30, 2005.
    [2] Ibid.; and de Lellis, letter to Audrey Sands, October 26, 2013.
    [3] MacGill/Walther 2000, p. 14.
    [4] Keith de Lellis Fine Art Photography invoice, May 12, 1995.

Surface

  • Surface Sheen Matte
  • Techniques Mount
    Retouching (additive)
    Contact print
    Retouching in negative
    Retouching (reductive)
  • 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 Unknown
  • UV Fluorescence Recto negative
    Verso no data
  • Fiber Analysis No fiber data available
  • Material Techniques Platinum print
  • XRF

    This work was determined to be a platinum 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: Ca, Cr, Mn, Fe, Zn, Pt, Pb
    • Mount: Al, Si, K, Ca, Cr, Mn, Fe, Zn, 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, K, Ca, Cr, Pt
    Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Verso or Mount (blue), Background (red)
    Elements identified: Mn, Fe, Zn, Pt, Pb

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