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University of Notre Dame
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Sculptural Effects in Tin

Date

ca. 1930

Creator

Joost Schmidt

Location

Raclin Murphy Museum of Art

This photograph... reflects not only the multidisciplinary environment of the Bauhaus, but also its playful interrogative attitude toward the medium. Two sculptural maquettes--presumably the record of a project created in the school's Plastic Arts Workshop--stand on a table. The models are fabricated from sheets of unfinished gray metal, probably tin, which have been folded so that they can stand freely on their own. Schmidt placed the sculptures side by side, so that their shadows nearly touch, and he closely cropped the edge of the image to create an abstract geometric composition. He took advantage of the reflective quality of the tin, the geometric passages that seem both to project and recede in space. The composition appears to oscillate. This photograph of the horizontal tabletop, shown as taken with receding shadows, carries pencil inscriptions on its verso suggesting that it was meant as a more abstract, vertical composition. from Acton, A History of Photography at the University of Notre Dame: Twentieth Century (Notre Dame, 2019)

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This photograph... reflects not only the multidisciplinary environment of the Bauhaus, but also its playful interrogative attitude toward the medium. Two sculptural maquettes--presumably the record of a project created in the school's Plastic Arts Workshop--stand on a table. The models are fabricated from sheets of unfinished gray metal, probably tin, which have been folded so that they can stand freely on their own. Schmidt placed the sculptures side by side, so that their shadows nearly touch, and he closely cropped the edge of the image to create an abstract geometric composition. He took advantage of the reflective quality of the tin, the geometric passages that seem both to project and recede in space. The composition appears to oscillate. This photograph of the horizontal tabletop, shown as taken with receding shadows, carries pencil inscriptions on its verso suggesting that it was meant as a more abstract, vertical composition. from Acton, A History of Photography at the University of Notre Dame: Twentieth Century (Notre Dame, 2019)
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  • This photograph... reflects not only the multidisciplinary environment of the Bauhaus, but also its playful interrogative attitude toward the medium. Two sculptural maquettes--presumably the record of a project created in the school's Plastic Arts Workshop--stand on a table. The models are fabricated from sheets of unfinished gray metal, probably tin, which have been folded so that they can stand freely on their own. Schmidt placed the sculptures side by side, so that their shadows nearly touch, and he closely cropped the edge of the image to create an abstract geometric composition. He took advantage of the reflective quality of the tin, the geometric passages that seem both to project and recede in space. The composition appears to oscillate. This photograph of the horizontal tabletop, shown as taken with receding shadows, carries pencil inscriptions on its verso suggesting that it was meant as a more abstract, vertical composition. from Acton, A History of Photography at the University of Notre Dame: Twentieth Century (Notre Dame, 2019)
  • This photograph... reflects not only the multidisciplinary environment of the Bauhaus, but also its playful interrogative attitude toward the medium. Two sculptural maquettes--presumably the record of a project created in the school's Plastic Arts Workshop--stand on a table. The models are fabricated from sheets of unfinished gray metal, probably tin, which have been folded so that they can stand freely on their own. Schmidt placed the sculptures side by side, so that their shadows nearly touch, and he closely cropped the edge of the image to create an abstract geometric composition. He took advantage of the reflective quality of the tin, the geometric passages that seem both to project and recede in space. The composition appears to oscillate. This photograph of the horizontal tabletop, shown as taken with receding shadows, carries pencil inscriptions on its verso suggesting that it was meant as a more abstract, vertical composition. from Acton, A History of Photography at the University of Notre Dame: Twentieth Century (Notre Dame, 2019)
Joost Schmidt (German, 1893 - 1948)
ca. 1930
Photographs
Gelatin silver print
2015.043
Bauhaus
maquettes
reflectivity
tin
Not on view, please request access
2 7/8 x 3 7/8 in. (7.3 x 9.8 cm)
Milly and Fritz Kaeser Endowment for Photography

Our collection information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. If you have spotted an error, please contact Raclin Murphy Museum of Art at RMMACollections@nd.edu.