Christian Schad

unique Schadograph, a photogram on printing-out-paper, mounted, signed and titled by the photographer in ink on the mount, numbered in unidentified hands in pencil and with a customs stamp on the reverse, matted, framed, Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of New Mexico, and Kunsthaus Zürich labels on the reverse, 1919

Estate of Tristan Tzara

Bern, Kornfeld & Klipstein, Dokumentations-Bibliothek III: Teile der Bibliothek und Sammlung Tristan Tzara, 12 June 1968

Galleria Schwarz, Milan

Private Collection

Acquired by the Quillan Company from the above, 1989

Zürich, Kunsthaus, Anwesenheit bei Abweenheit: Das Fotogramm und die Kunst des 20 Jahrhunderts (Presence through Absence: The Photogram and Art of the 20th Century), March - May 1990

Santa Fe, Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of New Mexico, Proto-Modern Photography, June - November 1992; and traveling to:

Rochester, International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House, December 1992 - February 1993

Denver, The Denver Art Museum, Experimental Vision: The Evolution of the Photogram Since 1919, January - March 1994 

Zürich, Kunsthaus Zürich, Christian Schad (1894-1982), August - November 1997; and traveling to:

Munich, Stadtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, November 1997 - February 1998

Emden, Kunsthalle in Emden, February - April 1998

New York, Neue Galerie, Christian Schad and the Neue Sachlichkeit, March - June 2003

This print:

Jill Quasha, The Quillan Collection of Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Photographs (New York, 1991), pl. 3

Hans Richter, Dada: Art and Anti-Art (DuMont Schauberg, 1964), pl. 64

Floris M. Neussüs, Thomas Barrow, and Charles Hagen, Experimental Vision: The Evolution of the Photogram Since 1919 (Denver Art Museum, 1994, in conjunction with the exhibition), p. 16

Kunsthaus Zürich, Christian Schad (1894-1982) (Zürich, 1997, in conjunction with the exhibition), p. 72, no. 130

Nikolaus Schad and Anna Auer, Schadographien: die Kraft des Lichts (Passau, 1999), p. 39

This unique print is on warm-toned printing-out paper, with the glossy surface typical of this variety of paper. The print was carefully trimmed into its current shape by Schad, who then mounted it onto a sheet of paper. When the print is examined very closely, some inconsequential wear can be seen on the edges. The upper right corner of the print is lifting very slightly from the mount. When the print is examined in raking light some very minor inconsistencies can be seen in the surface. These do not diminish the appearance or object-quality of this fascinating photogram. The photograph is mounted to a small sheet of paper. As can be seen in the catalogue illustration, four tape remains on the reverse of the print are faintly visible on the front of the mount – these do not affect the image.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Although cameraless photography had been used since the birth of the medium, it was largely abandoned until the early twentieth century, when it was re-invigorated by such figures as Christian Schad, László Moholy-Nagy, and Man Ray.  This renewed interest is most often attributed to Man Ray in 1922, but the artist Christian Schad had been using the photogram process for his Dada-inspired work since 1919.  Schad was known primarily as a painter and proponent of Neue Sachlichkeit prior to his brief involvement in Zurich Dada in the late 1910s.  In true Dada fashion he took the photogram out of the realm of traditional art subjects by placing such detritus as scraps of paper and fabric onto light-sensitive paper in order to create his so-called Schadographs.  The name Schadograph was coined by Dada leader Tristan Tzara, as a play on both the artist's name and 'the shadowlike character of the pictures' (Experimental Vision, p. 9). 

The unique object offered here was originally in the collection of Tristan Tzara, a founding member of Dada in Zurich.  Tzara, a poet, wrote the Dada Manifesto in 1918, thus becoming Dada's greatest propagandist.  He was largely responsible for bringing Dada to an international audience, most notably in Paris, where, through his connections to André Breton, Paris Dada was formed.  When Schad left Switzerland for Germany in 1920, his Schadographs were in the possession of his friend Walter Serner, who, excited about Schad's new work, forwarded them on to Tzara.  According to Dada authority Leah Dickerman, 'Tristan Tzara later carried a group of these tiny photographic compositions to Paris, whereupon Man Ray began to experiment with the technique, though the latter credited a darkroom accident for the new development' (Dada, p. 2).

The print offered here, Renseignements, meaning 'information,' was reproduced by fellow Dadaist Hans Richter in his seminal 1964 study, Dada: Art and Anti-Art.  An early and important history of the movement, the book included many first-hand accounts of Richter's experiences in Dada.  Since its acquisition by the Quillan Collection, the present print has been included in numerous exhibitions devoted to the work of Christian Schad and the history of the photogram.  It is believed that Schad produced only thirty Schadographs during the brief period he was affiliated with Zurich Dada, Renseignements among them.