With various stamps and notations on the verso. One stamp is for the Folkwang-Auriga Verlag, of which Renger was the director of photography in this period. A pen inscription ascribes this to the book by the botanist Walther Haage, "Die Welt der Pflanze," published by Folkwang in 1930. The latin name of the plant is given in pencil. One of Haage's specialties was cacti. A slight variant of the photograph, with Renger-Patzsch ink stamp, was offered in the F. Tajan auction on 11/22/05, Lot 32.
This is a striking, stark frontal photograph of the plant, with little indication of scale or context, a classic example of "Neue Sachlichkeit." Just slight sense of handling but no bends or tears.
