After Eighty Years of Sleeping Deeply Peter Steigerwald La Valle Camonica Negli Archivi Storici Dell’Istituto Frobenius
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LA VALLE CAMONICA NEGLI ARCHIVI STORICI DELL’ISTITUTO FROBENIUS DOCUMENTI E IMMAGINI (1935-37) a Patrizia Frontini LA VALLE CAMONICA NEGLI ARCHIVI STORICI DELL’ISTITUTO FROBENIUS DOCUMENTI E IMMAGINI (1935-37) a cura di Alberto Marretta e Maria Giuseppina Ruggiero O M ONI ON IM D R IA T L A E P • W • L O A I R D L D N da O H M E R E IT N 40 anni I A O G M E • PATRI Patrimonio Organizzazione Arte rupestre dell’Umanità delle Nazioni Unite della B.I.M. Comunità Montana per l’Educazione, Valle Camonica Bacino Imbrifero Montano di Valle Camonica la Scienza e la Cultura Primo Sito Italiano - 1979 Progetto finanziato a valere sui fondi: Legge 20 febbraio 2006, n. 77 “Misure speciali di tutela e fruizione dei siti e degli elementi italiani di interesse culturale, paesaggistico e ambientale, inseriti nella «lista del patrimonio mondiale», posti sotto la tutela dell’UNESCO” La Valle Camonica negli archivi storici dell’Istituto Frobenius. Documenti e immagini (1935-37) A cura di Alberto Marretta, Maria Giuseppina Ruggiero Con contributi di Filippo Maria Gambari, Richard Kuba, Peter Steigerwald, Massimo Tarantini Traduzione dal tedesco Patrizia Frontini Fotografie Ove non diversamente specificato le fotografie provengono dagli archivi del Frobenius Institut (Francoforte) Grafica Lorenzo Caffi Parco Nazionale delle Incisioni Rupestri, Capo di Ponte QUADERNI. 6 ISBN 9788894871166 Copyright © 2019 Litos Edizioni Finito di stampare da Litos s.r.l. nel mese di Giugno 2019 È vietata la riproduzione, anche parziale, con qualsiasi mezzo effettuata, compresa la fotocopia, anche ad uso interno o didattico. Eventuali violazioni saranno perseguite a norma di legge. After eighty years of sleeping deeply Peter Steigerwald La Valle Camonica negli archivi storici dell’Istituto Frobenius. Documenti e immagini (1935-37) After eighty years of sleeping deeply Peter Steigerwald Frobenius Institut für kulturanthropologische Forschung an der Goethe-Universität (Frankfurt) etween 1935 and 1937, Frobenius Institute staff made three trips to the Italian Val Camonica and one to the adjacent Maritime Alps region to explore rock engravings that can be found there Bin large numbers. As the founder of the Institute, Leo Frobenius had already initiated rock art research at the beginning of the century and later established it on a staff basis via journeys to distant countries. Thus, scientific material was also collected in the relevant region of Italy, which, however, received only limited attention after Frobenius’ death in 1938 and after Europe sank into chaos. A not insignificant part of this material is now available in the archives of Fig. 1 The lower two rows of the box show 35 mm films of the Frobenius Institute in the form of photographic the 15th journey (1935) in May 2017, including film no. 6 documents. Apparently, the interest in these which is shown as a copy in Fig. 2. At that time, films 1, 2 and photographs was not too great in the course of the 3 were already cut into strips and stored in archival paper reorientation after the war, since only the photographs sheets (right). Most of the Leica photographs concerned were taken by the draughtswoman and photographer Erika from the journey “alpha XVIII” (1936) were edited as Trautmann. small-format prints and combined into an album or “photo catalogue”. Besides, there are only a number of older photo enlargements where the production date is not known, and which are archived between the graphic documents and drawings also made the negatives of various sizes, which were to be during the travels. The photographs of journeys 15, regarded as particularly fragile as a result of aging 19 and 20 (in the Institute’s census) remained in the over 80 years and a simple “flipping through” seemed archives in the form of the original negatives in folders irresponsible. Basically, the photo department of the and in a box receiving no further attention. In total, Frobenius Institute is well equipped for this situation the negatives of the four expeditions are slightly more due to many years of experience in processing the than 1500 shots in 24x36 mm format, distributed over numerous old glass plate and film negatives. For 45 35 mm films, around 300 cut negatives in 6x6 more than 25 years, the old negatives have no longer cm format and 137 negatives in 9x12 cm size. When been used directly for working purposes, but copied Maria Giuseppina Ruggiero, Filippo Maria Gambari in its own laboratory to 1:1 interpositives based on and Alberto Marretta visited the Frobenius Institute silver film, which are then used for the production in June 2016 to search its archives for information of subsequent products such as working negatives and documents on the research of the 1930s, their and prints for exhibitions. This is preferably done interest quickly aroused when they learned about in connection with external image requests and in the existing photographic material. Very suddenly, the case of recognizable decay of negatives worth however, a problem was also raised with this interest, preserving. Right from the beginning, digitisation which concerned access to the image information. was also linked to the simultaneous production of Apart from the 18th journey, for which exists the a physical copy. Any purchaser of a photo file will mentioned catalogue, the subject matter of the other share in the costs of the analogue backup of the photographs was largely unknown. With regard to the original negative. In the present case it was therefore re-archiving of all expedition negatives, this material not only a problem to get an idea of the picture’s had been neglected until then and, unchanged for subject, but also to continue to adhere to the basic decades, had been stored in bags made of glassine procedure and to be confronted with a considerable paper or was available in the form of rolled films. amount of work and high expected costs in view However, the particular problem was that cellulose of the total number of negatives in question of nitrate had to be assumed as the base material for around 1950. At the beginning of 2017, despite 67 Fig. 2 Interpositive of film no. 6 of the 15th journey, produced on technical silver film of the manufacturer AGFA Graphics. The base material is polyester. To achieve a high durability, all copies were toned with selenium. The gelatine was hardened in a final bath. The image shown in Fig. 3 is marked. all the uncertainties, the problem was specifically then determine the required exposure intensity and addressed by carrying out a low-resolution pre- the strength of development of the copying film. In the digitisation of all negatives concerned, in the hope case of the 35 mm negatives, the predigitisation was of subsequent comprehensive processing. This technically carried out by scanning the film strips laid measure also corresponded to the previous practice next to each other using a flatbed scanner. The 6x6 of determining the density values of a negative by cm shots cut into single negatives as well as the 9x12 simultaneously recording a step tablet in order to cm negatives, on the other hand, were photographed La Valle Camonica negli archivi storici dell’Istituto Frobenius. Documenti e immagini (1935-37) 69 Fig. 3 Photograph with the perforation number 26 of the film shown in Fig. 2. The enlarged sections allow a comparison of the detail accuracy of the interpositive (right) with that of the original negative (left). The original segment corresponds to a circle with a diameter of one millimeter. The overall view is derived from the copy. Fig. 4 Four of the 9x12 cm negatives of journey 19 (1937) arranged on the copy frame in the darkroom. For exposure, the emulsion side of the copying film is placed on the silver gelatine layer of the negatives in complete darkness. After the rubber blanket is lowered, the negatives and the film are pressed closely together by suctioning off the air (85% vacuum). loosely on a light tablet, as were the uncut films exposure values and development. As far as the 35 unrolled cautiously image by image. The image files mm films were concerned, it was intended to copy the resulting from the preview were sufficient for the complete film, arranged in the sequence of its strips, research team from Italy to check the information as is known from the production of contact sheets on content and usability of the respective photos within photographic paper. At the beginning of the second the scope of the research project. As a result, more quarter of 2017, the planning was completed and the than 1200 negatives of different sizes were selected financial framework secured to such an extent that from the four trips for processing, enabling a the Frobenius Institute could be commissioned to concrete estimate of the expected costs. It was clear carry out the project. that, given the need to maintain a realistic financial Processing of the negatives began in April and was framework, but also in view of the limited manpower realised in stages on the basis of the stocks for the available, implementation would not be possible individual trips. It all started with the material from without appropriate rationalisation measures. the 18th trip, which was also included because the Therefore, from the beginning, it was planned to put small prints in the existing catalogue did not have together a set of negatives with similar properties for the desired quality. The negatives of journey 15 each copy run, both for the 6x6 and 9x12 formats, (1935) and journey 19 (1937) followed. The work and to make a reasonable compromise in terms of was completed with the delivery of the photo files for La Valle Camonica negli archivi storici dell’Istituto Frobenius.