Stairs II

Front / Recto

Title Stairs II (Treppe II)
Negative Date 1929–31
Print Date 1929–35
Medium Gelatin silver print
Dimensions Image 9 7/16 × 6 7/8" (24 × 17.4 cm)
Place Taken Berlin
Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Gift of Thomas Walther
MoMA Accession Number 1891.2001
Copyright © 2015 Umbo / Gallery Kicken Berlin / Phyllis Umbehr / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn

Mount Type No mount
Marks and Inscriptions Inscribed in green pencil on sheet verso, bottom left: 24. Treppe II. Stamped in black ink on sheet verso, bottom right: Copyright by/DEUTSCHER PHOTO-DIENST/Berlin W 8, Jägerstr. 11/Tel.: A 4 Zentrum 1806-1807/als Photograph zu nennen:/UMBO DEPHOT.
Provenance The artist; to Photo-Archives Service, Paris, 1930s [1]; to Herbert Molderings, Paris, 1980s [2]; purchased by Thomas Walther, May 1995 [3]; given to The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
[1] Herbert Molderings, letter to Maria Morris Hambourg, October 1, 2013.
[2] Ibid.; and MacGill/Walther 2000, p. 39.
[3] Molderings, letter to Hambourg.

Surface Sheen Glossy
Techniques Retouching (additive)
Enlargement
Ferrotyping
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
Weight Single weight
Thickness (mm) 0.18
UV Fluorescence Recto negative
Verso negative
Fiber Analysis Softwood bleached sulfite 57%
Hardwood bleached sulfite 1%
Rag 28%
Bast 14%
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: Al, P, 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