- 135
László Moholy-Nagy
Description
- László Moholy-Nagy
- Photogram
- Gelatin silver print
Literature
Andreas Haus, Photographs and Photograms: Moholy-Nagy (New York, 1980), pl. 129
László Moholy-Nagy: The Art of Light (Madrid, 2010), p. 120
Condition
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.
Catalogue Note
Moholy included this enlarged photogram in his 1935 one-man exhibition at the Künstlerhaus Brno, in which he showed a number of other enlarged photographic works. An installation view shows this image, in this format, hanging in a horizontal orientation just to the right of his fotoplastik, Jealousy. 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.
Moholy made the present large-format print around 1929, as part of a project to create a portfolio of his best 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 5 other prints of the present image.