Front / Recto

  • Title Nocturnal Start of Decathlon 1,500m Race (Nächtlicher Start zum 1500-m-Lauf des Zehnkampfes)
  • Negative Date August 1936
  • Print Date 1936–55
  • Medium Gelatin silver print
  • Dimensions Image 9 5/16 x 11 3/4" (23.7 x 29.8 cm)
  • Place Taken Berlin
  • Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Abbott-Levy Collection funds, by exchange
  • MoMA Accession Number 1821.2001
  • Copyright © Archiv Leni Riefenstahl Produktion

Back / Verso

  • Mount Type No mount - evidence previous mount
  • Marks and Inscriptions Inscribed in blue ink on sheet verso, top left: x. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, center: 9028 [underlined]. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, center: 27 [circled]. Signed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom right: Leni Riefenstahl.
  • Provenance The artist; to Christian Diener, Berlin, 1982 [1]; purchased by Thomas Walther; purchased by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
    [1] MacGill/Walther 2000, p. 31; and Christian Diener, letter to Simon Bieling, June 4, 2005.

Surface

  • Surface Sheen Semireflective
  • Techniques Retouching (additive)
    Enlargement
  • 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

Paper Material

  • Format Metric
  • Weight Double weight
  • Thickness (mm) 0.32
  • UV Fluorescence Recto negative
    Verso negative
  • Fiber Analysis Softwood bleached sulfite 85%
    Hardwood bleached sulfite 8%
    Softwood bleached kraft/soda 6%
    Rag 2%
    Bast
  • Material Techniques Developing-out paper
    Baryta-less 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: S, Ca, Cr, Zn, Sr, Ag, Ba
    • Verso: Al, Si, 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, S, 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

Spread from Leni Riefenstahl. Schönheit im Olympischen Kampf (Beauty in the Olympic Games). Berlin: Deutscher Verlag, 1937. Left: Nocturnal start of decathlon 1,500m race. Right: Huber-Germany, best European in the decathlon. © Archiv Leni Riefenstahl Produktion

Historical Publications

  • Riefenstahl, Leni. Schönheit im Olympischen Kampf, p. 128 (as Nächtlicher Start zum 1500-m-Lauf des Zehnkampfes). Berlin: Deutschen Verlag, 1937.

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