Front / Recto

  • Title Untitled (Self-Portrait)
  • Negative Date September 1929
  • Print Date 1929
  • Medium Gelatin silver print
  • Dimensions Image 3 13/16 x 3 1/8" (9.7 x 8 cm)
  • Place Taken Paris
  • Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Gift of Thomas Walther
  • MoMA Accession Number 1839.2001
  • Copyright © 2015 Werner Rohde / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Germany

Back / Verso

  • Mount Type No mount - evidence previous mounting
  • Marks and Inscriptions

    Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, top left: RK 11080-1TH3. Inscribed in pencil across entire sheet verso: Aufn Tut Rohde/Maler 23 Jahre alt/Paris/Vater IX 29/Glasmalerei fabrik/er lernt an der/Halleschen/Kunstgew[erbe]/schule bei Hass,/den er verehrt/ist bei s Vater tätig/der gibt ihm Urlaub [1].

    [1] "Photo pictures Rohde/painter 23 years old/Paris/father IX 29/glass painting shop/he is studying at the School of Applied Arts in Halle/under Hass/whom he reveres/works for his father/who has given him leave."

  • Provenance The artist, Bremen/Worpswede, Germany; to Galerie Rudolf Kicken, Cologne [1]; probably to Paul Walter, New York [2]; sold through Christie's New York (sale 8884, lot 300) to Thomas Walther, April 8, 1998 [3]; given to The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
    [1] Archival no. RK11080-1TH3 on sheet verso.
    [2] Paul Walter, letter to Simon Bieling, May 2005.
    [3] MacGill/Walther 2001(4), p. 12; Walter, letter to Bieling; and Christie's invoice no. J290005, April 15, 1998.

Back Printing

Detail showing VELOX. brand logotype printed in ink on the verso of the photograph. In image processing, contrast was adjusted to enhance the readability of the logotype. The area of detail is 1 x 3 cm. Department of Conservation, MoMA

Surface

  • Surface Sheen Semireflective
  • Techniques Contact print
  • 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 Unknown
  • Weight Single weight
  • Thickness (mm) 0.16
  • UV Fluorescence Recto negative
    Verso negative
  • Fiber Analysis Softwood bleached sulfite 23%
    Rag 73%
    Bast 4%
  • Material Techniques Developing-out paper
    Back printing
    Gaslight 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: Al, P, S, Ca, Zn, Sr, Ag, Ba
    • Verso: Al, 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, P, S, Ca, Ag, Ba
    Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Verso or Mount (blue), Background (red)
    Elements identified: Zn, Sr, Ag

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