László Moholy-Nagy

the photographer's 'berlin-chbg. 9, fredericiastr. 27 atelier' studio and 'foto moholy-nagy' credit stamps, the latter annotated 'gramm' by the photographer in pencil, and with 'photogram 1' in pencil and the number '470' [circled] in red crayon on the reverse, 1925-28, printed circa 1929

Sotheby's London, Important Avant-Garde Photographs of the 1920s & 1930s, 2 May 1997, Sale 7267, Lot 118

Herbert Molderings, Floris M. Neusüss, and Renate Heyne, Moholy-Nagy: The Photograms: Catalogue Raisonné (Ostfildern, 2009), fgm 247 and p. 230

Andreas Haus, Photographs and Photograms: Moholy-Nagy (New York, 1980), pl. 129

László Moholy-Nagy: The Art of Light (Madrid, 2010), p. 120

This large, impressive photograph, after a unique photogram, is on double-weight paper with a delicate surface sheen. It is essentially in excellent condition. With its full range of tones, extending from deep black to creamy white, the print delivers a highly nuanced account of its subjects. Faint silvering, appropriate for a print of its age, is visible primarily at the periphery where it has been covered by a mat. There is faint rippling along the top edge of the print. Close examination reveals 2 small matte areas near the left edge, possibly fingerprints, and 2 very soft creases in the lower portion of the image, the longest of which measures 2½ inches and is near the rattle handle. There are very thin uneven white margins. There is insignificant edge chipping, primarily at the corners. The several small white specks and thin lines visible in the image are due to dust or imperfections on the negative and are not features of the present print. None of these issues detracts in a significant way from the impact of this image. The reverse of the print is lightly soiled, and there is a thin brown paper remnant along the upper edge, indicating that it was affixed to a mount at some point in the past.
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.

Moholy made the present large-format print after an original photogram around 1929, as part of a project to create a portfolio of his photograms.  This set, now known as the Giedion portfolio, consisted of 10 enlargements of Moholy photograms and was to be published in an edition of 20.  It is doubtful that the entire edition was completed, as only a small number of the individual prints are extant.  The only full set of the 10 images from this portfolio is at the Kupferstichkabinett of the Kunstmuseum Basel.   In Moholy-Nagy: The Photograms: Catalogue Raisonné, Renate Heyne locates six other prints of the present image.  The location of the original unique photogram, upon which the image is based, is unknown. 

Moholy included this enlarged photogram image in his 1935 one-man exhibition at the Künstlerhaus Brno, in which he showed a number of other enlarged photographic works.  An installation view of the exhibition shows this image, in this format, hanging just to the right of an enlargement of his fotoplastik, Jealousy (Moholy-Nagy: The Photograms: Catalogue Raisonné, pp. 220-21).  The Brno retrospective was essentially identical to the selection of works Moholy showed in the seminal Film und Foto exhibition in Stuttgart in 1927, and it can be assumed that this image was included there, as well. 

This principal shape in this photogram is the kinderrassel, or child’s rattle, with its circular head and flanged handle.  The rattle appears in at least two other Moholy photograms, including FGM 422, a photogram on printing-out paper sold in these rooms on 13 April 2010 (Sale 8624, Lot 143), and FGM 246.  The triangular shape in the photogram is possibly a drafter’s triangle or a designer’s tool.  One of its edges must have been resting directly upon the surface of the original photographic paper, for it has blocked the light nearly completely and has left its impression as a bright straight line.  The diagonality of its placement within the composition relates to work Moholy himself was producing at the time in painting and other media, as well as to that of the Constructivists.

Moholy understood photography not only as a tool for making art, but for extending its reach.  Whether he was working with collage, as in the fotoplastiks, with camera images, or photograms, he intended them to function not only as artworks in themselves, but also in reproduction.  He designed his images to retain all of their dynamic power whether one was viewing the original object, a reproduction of it in a book or magazine, or as an enlargement on the wall of an exhibition.  The strength of his aesthetic persists across the range of formats and media.