Venus, Jupiter and Mars, 1949

Venus, Jupiter and Mars, 1949
Untrimmed 8x10-inch contact print

The still life arrangement, Venus, Jupiter and Mars, 1949, was assembled from two found illustrations, the front of one (a torn fragment depicting the three figures) and the back of the other. Once Sommer found the graphic connections, he placed this arrangement in front of an 8x10-inch camera with a 21-cm Jenna Tessar lens. Using bellows extension to project and enlarge the image in the camera, and then stopping the lens down for greater depth of field, he made his exposure.

Proof of the ‘VJM’ 949 negative that has not been etched
1949 Untrimmed 8x10-inch contact print

This proof print shows the image before Sommer etched small sections of the negative to correct and sculpt areas where a rough burlap background showed through (see top and bottom of left side). Using a straight edge and a sharp point, Sommer confidently etched, adding density and clarifying these sections, while emphasizing the edges of shapes that echo throughout this image.

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