Front / Recto
- Title Untitled (Self-Portrait)
- Negative Date 1935
- Print Date 1935–40
- Medium Gelatin silver print
- Dimensions Image 9 5/16 × 6 3/4" (23.6 × 17.2 cm)
- Place Taken Prague
- Credit Line Thomas Walther Collection. Gift of Thomas Walther
- MoMA Accession Number 1896.2001
Back / Verso
- Mount Type No mount - evidence previous mounting
- Marks and Inscriptions Signed in pencil on sheet verso, top right: Vobecký 1935. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, top right: 1136.
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Provenance
The artist, Prague; probably to Wilhelm Schürmann, Cologne [1]; purchased by Thomas Walther, possibly July 1977 [2]; given to The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
[1] Rudolf Kicken, conversation with Simon Bieling, Kicken Berlin, August 2005; Gerd Sander, letter to Maria Morris Hambourg, October 31, 2013; Schürmann, telephone conversation with Bieling, April 1, 2005. Schürmann regularly went to Prague to buy photographs in the 1970s and early 1980s, and Vobecký was still living there at this time. This print did not come through Sander but most likely was aquired directly from the artist by Schürmann, who does not remember this print or the other Vobecký in the Thomas Walther Collection (1895.2001, which did come from Schürmann with the intermediary Gerd Sander). Thomas Walther bought several prints by Czech photographers directly from Schürmann.
[2] MacGill/Walther 2000, p. 40; and Thomas Walther inventory sheet, annotated with archival no. TW 770753.
Back Printing
Detail showing Agfa-Brovira manufacturer logo 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 1 x 3 cm. Department of Conservation, MoMA
Surface
- Surface Sheen Semireflective
- Techniques Retouching (additive) Coating Enlargement
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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
Paper Material
- Format Metric
- Weight Double weight
- Thickness (mm) 0.38
- UV Fluorescence Recto negative Verso negative
- Fiber Analysis Softwood bleached sulfite 79% Hardwood bleached sulfite 1% Rag 18% Bast 4%
- Material Techniques Developing-out paper Baryta-less paper Back printing
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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, Cr, Fe, Zn, Ag, Ba
- Verso: Al, Si, S, K, Ca, Cr, Fe, Zn, 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, P, S, K, Ca, Cr, Ag, Ba
Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Verso or Mount (blue), Background (red)
Elements identified: Fe, Zn, Sr, Ag
In Context
Related People
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Artist
Related Links
- Cultural Hubs Prague
