Untitled

Front / Recto

Title Untitled
Negative Date 1934
Print Date 1934–35
Medium Gelatin silver print
Dimensions Image 9 × 6 9/16" (22.8 × 16.7 cm)
Sheet 9 7/16 × 7 1/16" (23.9 × 17.9 cm)
Place Taken Bremen
Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Gift of Thomas Walther
MoMA Accession Number 1841.2001
Copyright © 2015 Werner Rohde / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Germany

Mount Type No mount
Marks and Inscriptions Signed in pencil on sheet verso, center: Werner Rohde/1934. Stamped in black ink on sheet verso, center: FOTO W. ROHDE. Stamped in black ink on sheet verso, bottom right: FOTOGRAFIE/WERNER ROHDE. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom right: TW 770710.
Provenance The artist, Bremen/Worpswede, Germany; by inhertance to the artist's estate (Loretta Baum) [1]; to Galerie Rudolf Kicken, Cologne, 1977 [2]; purchased by Thomas Walther, probably July 1977 [3]; given to The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
[1] Rudolf Kicken, conversation with Simon Bieling, Galerie Kicken, Berlin, February 17, 2005.
[2] MacGill/Walther 2000, p. 33.
[3] Thomas Walther archival no. TW 770710 on sheet verso.

Surface Sheen Semireflective
Techniques 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

Format Metric
Weight Double weight
Thickness (mm) 0.36
UV Fluorescence Recto negative
Verso negative
Fiber Analysis Softwood bleached sulfite 84%
Hardwood bleached sulfite 16%
Rag 1%
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, 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, Sr, Ag, Ba

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