Bauhaus Workshop Building from Below. Oblique View.

Front / Recto

Title Bauhaus Workshop Building from Below. Oblique View. (Werkstattgebäude von unten. Schrägaufnahme.)
Negative Date September 1926
Print Date 1926–35
Medium Gelatin silver print
Dimensions Image 13 3/4 × 10 13/16" (35 × 27.5 cm)
Sheet 14 9/16 × 11 3/4" (37 × 29.8 cm)
Place Taken Dessau
Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Gift of Thomas Walther
MoMA Accession Number 1789.2001
Copyright © 2015 Lucia Moholy Estate/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

Mount Type No mount - evidence previous mounting
Marks and Inscriptions Stamped in black ink on sheet verso, bottom right: FOTO LUCIA MOHOLY–BERLIN/Ohne Erlaubnis/Reproduktion verboten. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom right: [illegible].
Provenance The artist, Zurich [1]; purchased by Egidio Marzona, Berlin/Bielefeld [2]; purchased by Galerie Berinson, Berlin, mid- to late 1990s [3]; purchased by Thomas Walther; given to The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
[1] Egidio Marzona, conversation with Thomas Walther, Berlin, April 2014.
[2] Ibid.; and MacGill/Walther 2001(4), p. 10.
[3] Marzona, conversation with Walther; and MacGill/Walther 2001(4), p. 10.

Surface Sheen Semireflective
Techniques Retouching (additive)
Enlargement
Ferrotyping
Retouching in negative
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

Format Metric
UV Fluorescence Recto negative
Verso negative
Fiber Analysis Grass 27%
Rag 46%
Bast 7%
Softwood bleached soda 5%
Softwood bleached sulfite 15%
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: S, 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, Si, P, S, K, Ca, Ti, Ag, Ba

Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Verso or Mount (blue), Background (red)
Elements identified: Fe, Cu, Zn, Sr, Ag, Pb

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