Front / Recto

  • Title Mondrian
  • Negative Date 1926
  • Print Date 1926–c. 1928
  • Medium Gelatin silver print
  • Dimensions Image 4 5/16 × 3 1/8" (10.9 × 7.9 cm)
    Sheet 5 3/16 × 3 1/4" (13.2 × 8.2 cm)
  • Place Taken Paris
  • Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Gift of Thomas Walther
  • MoMA Accession Number 1720.2001
  • Copyright © Estate of André Kertész

Back / Verso

  • Mount Type No mount
  • Marks and Inscriptions Signed in pencil on sheet recto, bottom left: A Kertész. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, left: P. Mondrian 1926. Inscribed in pencil on sheet recto, bottom right: Paris. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom right: TW 770723.
  • Provenance The artist, Paris; to Michel Seuphor, Paris, c. 1928 [1]; to Galerie Wilde (Ann and Jürgen Wilde), Cologne, 1979–80 [2]; purchased by Thomas Walther, 1980 [3]; given to The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
    [1] MacGill/Walther 2001(4), p. 6; and Jürgen Wilde, letter to Simon Bieling, May 12, 2005.
    [2] MacGill/Walther 2001(4), p. 6; and Wilde, letter to Audrey Sands, October 1, 2013.
    [3] MacGill/Walther 2001(4), p. 6; and Wilde, letter to Sands.

Back Printing

Detail showing Guilleminot manufacturer logo (horse’s head in horseshoe/star) with postal type printed in ink on the verso of the photograph. In image processing, contrast was adjusted to enhance the readability of the logo. The area of detail is 2 x 4.5 cm. Department of Conservation, MoMA

Surface

  • Retouch Detail
    Detail showing aqueous retouching applied with a brush. The area of detail is 14 x 22 mm. Department of Conservation, MoMA
    Detail showing retouching on the negative. The area of detail is 14 x 22 mm. Department of Conservation, MoMA
  • Surface Sheen Semireflective
  • Techniques Retouching (additive)
    Coating
    Contact print
    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

Paper Material

  • Format Metric
  • Weight Double weight
  • Thickness (mm) 0.30
  • UV Fluorescence Recto negative
    Verso negative
  • Fiber Analysis Softwood bleached sulfite 90%
    Hardwood bleached sulfite 7%
    Rag 3%
  • Material Techniques Developing-out paper
    Back printing
    Photographic postcard
  • 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, Si, P, S, K, Ca, Zn, Sr, Ag, Ba, Pb
    • Verso: Al, Si, P, K, Ca, Fe, Zn, Sr, Ba, Pb

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

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