Lot 135
  • 135

László Moholy-Nagy

Estimate
150,000 - 250,000 USD
bidding is closed

Description

  • László Moholy-Nagy
  • Photogram
  • Gelatin silver print
the photographer’s ‘moholy-nagy, berlin-chbg. 9, fredericiastr. 27 atelier’ studio stamp on the reverse, 1925-28, printed circa 1929

Literature

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

Condition

This enlargement of a photogram shows an impressive amount of detail and nuance. The blacks have a great deal of depth, and the highlights show crisp detail. The tones range from a deep black through a slightly warm gray to a light cream in the highlights. It is on matte-surfaced paper with a smooth finish. The print is essentially in excellent condition. When viewed in raking light, age-appropriate silvering is present to varying degrees in the dark areas. This is not obtrusive. Close examination shows some minor spots and specks which are due to dust or defects on the negative and are not physical features of the print itself. In raking light a few minor linear scuffs and inconsistencies can be seen in the surface. There is some very minor wear on the edges. None of these issues detracts from the overwhelmingly fine appearance of this large and dramatic image. There is some soiling on the reverse of the image. Moholy's stamp appears, characteristically, in purple ink.
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

This dynamic photogram image comes from László Moholy-Nagy’s time in Dessau (1925-28), one of the most productive periods in his career.  By that point, Moholy had mastered the photogram process and transformed it into an exceedingly effective expressive medium.  This image, with its strong diagonal composition and nuanced presentation of objects against a deep black background, is one of the most dramatic images from this time.  Its composition relates to work Moholy himself was concurrently producing in other media, as well as to that of the Constructivists.  The location of the original unique photogram, upon which this print is based, is unknown. 

 

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.