Backstroke

Front / Recto

Title Backstroke (Rückenschwimmerinnen)
Negative Date 1930
Print Date 1936–55
Medium Gelatin silver print
Dimensions Image 10 1/2 × 13 7/16" (26.6 × 34.1 cm)
Sheet 11 × 13 15/16" (28 × 35.4 cm)
Place Taken Hannover
Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Gift of Thomas Walther
MoMA Accession Number 1862.2001
Copyright © The Steinitz-Berg Family Art Collection, 1930

Mount Type No mount
Marks and Inscriptions Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom right: TW 900404.
Provenance The artist, New York/Los Angeles; by inheritance to the artist’s daughter, Ilse Berg, Los Angeles, 1975 [1]; to Galerie Berinson, Berlin, early 1980s [2]; purchased by Thomas Walther, possibly April 1990 [3]; given to The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
[1] MacGill/Walther 2001(4), p. 13.
[2] Ibid.; and Hendrik Berinson, conversation with Simon Bieling, Galerie Berinson, Berlin, February 18, 2005.
[3] Thomas Walther archival no. TW 900404 on sheet verso.

Surface Sheen Semireflective
Techniques Retouching (additive)
Enlargement
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

Format Imperial
Weight Single weight
Thickness (mm) 0.18
UV Fluorescence Recto negative
Verso negative
Fiber Analysis Softwood bleached sulfite 95%
Hardwood bleached sulfite 3%
Softwood bleached sulfite
Rag 2%
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: Al, P, S, Ca, Sr, Ag, Ba
- Verso: Al, S, K, Ca, 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, Ag, Ba

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

“Die Wochenschau.” Hannoversche Kurier, no. 37 (1930): 9.

Click Photo-Parade (Chicago) 1, no. 3 (April 1938): 29.