Silver gelatin prints are matted and mounted on archival 16 x 20 inch mountboard and framed in a 0.6 inch hand-painted black oak moulding behind museum glass.
Michael Kenna signs and editions each mountboard below the print and includes the year the photograph was made after his signature.
On the reverse of each 16x20 inch mountboard Kenna includes the photograph’s title, the year the photograph was made, the year the print was made, the edition number, the edition size and artist signature.
Michael Kenna
Artist Proof 04
8.5x7.25"
Further images
"There can be no doubt that Florence is one of the most beautiful and romantic cities on the face of the earth. I have had the good fortune to have made sporadic visits there since the seventies. On arrival in the "cradle of the Renaissance" I find that it is first necessary to revisit familiar old friends such as the Duomo, Uffizi, Piazza della Signoria, Pitti Palace, etc. A long walk (or run) along the Arno is also de rigour. Bridges have long fascinated me and I photograph them whenever I can. Some of my favourites include the Charles Bridge in Prague, Brooklyn Bridge in New York, Pont des Arts in Paris and Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. There are many more, of course, and the Ponte Vecchio in Florence is very high in my estimation. I have photographed it several times, for the most part unsuccessfully. Many average pictures of this exquisite bridge lie dormant in my negative archives. However, I believe that this study of Ponte Vecchio from 1988 is an exception and rises high above my other attempts. The photograph was made on a late Winter afternoon. I had been out of Florence that day exploring the countryside, but there was something about the light that drew me back to the centre of the city. A light mist was in the air, and it was chilly. I knew the location on the Ponte Santa Trinita from where I would photograph. I had reconnoitered it on walks, and as we all know, fortune favours the prepared. I arrived just when the daylight was beginning to fade and streetlights were coming on. I placed my camera on a tripod, composed the image and began to make pictures. My exposures must have been in the range of one to ten minutes in order to capture movement in the water. In the print, I can see figures on the bridge, so the exposure for this negative would have been on the shorter side. The balance of light and darkness works perfectly for me. Any lighter and there would too many details, any darker and the lights would become too bright and prominent. I think that suggestion is often more important than description. Too much information can sometimes be redundant if we are already familiar with subject matter. Whereas, more sparse elements in an image can act as catalysts to conjure up our own experiences and memories. Such is the case for me with this print of Ponte Vecchio. Every time I view this print, I am immediately transported back to Florence and in my imagination, I can once again wander around and experience this Italian jewel. Negroni anybody?
The first print was made in 1993 and the edition sold out in 2013. As the final print is always the most expensive it often happens that one print stays on consignment in a gallery for many years before it is eventually snapped up. Such was the case with this image, most prints sold out within a few years of the first printing." Michael Kenna 2020
Provenance
Negative 1988 Print 1994
This sepia toned silver gelatin print is Artist Proof 04 in a limited edition of 45 prints and 4 artist proofs. All prints are made by Michael Kenna. The limited edition of 45 prints sold out in 2013.