Front / Recto
- Title Limbs and Shadow (Glieder und Schatten)
- Negative Date 1924
- Print Date 1924–26
- Medium Gelatin silver print
- Dimensions Image 11 1/4 × 8 3/4" (28.6 × 22.3 cm)
- Place Taken Dresden
- Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Gift of Thomas Walther
- MoMA Accession Number 1735.2001
- Copyright © 2015 / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Germany
Back / Verso
- Mount Type No mount
- Marks and Inscriptions Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, top left: Glieder und Schatten-/Aktfoto. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, center: 28.6 in hoch/1/1 around inscribed ↕. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, center: 45 [circled]. Stamped in black ink on sheet verso, center: Prof. Edmund Kesting. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, right: [illegible]. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom right: TW 871103. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom right: Ch 7400.
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Provenance
The artist, Berlin; to the artist's estate (the artist's son, Konstantin Kesting), Birkenwerder, Germany [1]. Sander Gallery (Gerd Sander), New York [2]; purchased by Thomas Walther, November 1987 [3]; given to The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
[1] MacGill/Walther 2001(4), p. 7.
[2] Sander Gallery invoice no. 1187.7.GS, November 22, 1987.
[3] Ibid.; and Thomas Walther archival no. TW 871103 on sheet verso.
Surface
- Surface Sheen Semireflective
- Techniques Retouching (additive) Enlargement Retouching in negative Retouching (reductive)
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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 Imperial
- Weight Single weight
- Thickness (mm) 0.19
- UV Fluorescence Recto negative Verso negative
- Fiber Analysis Softwood bleached sulfite 49% Rag 37% Bast 14%
- Material Techniques Developing-out paper
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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, K, Ca, Cr, Zn, Sr, Ag, Ba
- Verso: Al, S, K, Ca, 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, P, S, K, Ca, Cr, Ag, Ba
Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Verso or Mount (blue), Background (red)
Elements identified: Zn, Sr, Ag
In Context
Related Images
Edmund Kesting. Limbs and Shadow (Glieder und Schatten). Reproduced in Bifur 2, no. 8 (June 10, 1931). © 2014/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/VG Bild-Kunst, Germany
Spread from Edmund Kesting. Ein Maler sieht durch’s Objektiv (A Painter sees through the lens). Halle: Fotokino Verlag, 1958. © 2014/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/VG Bild-Kunst, Germany
Historical Publications
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Bifur 2, no. 8 (June 10, 1931): insert between pp. 128 and 129 (as Nudité).
Historical Exhibitions
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Rome. Biennale Internazionale d’Arte Fotografica. 1932.
Related People
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Artist
