Vittorio Vidali's 'Fifth Regiment' stamp and directional notations in pencil on the reverse, 1929

Gift of Vittorio Vidali to the present owner

Other prints of this image:

International Literature [Inostrannaya Literatura] #12 (Moscow, 1935)

Sarah Lowe, Tina Modotti: Photographs (Philadelph🍎i𒈔a Museum of Art, 1995), pl. 27 (inverted)

Margaret Hooks, Tina Modotti: Photographer and Revolutionary (London and San Francisco, 1993), p. 127

Margaret Hooks, Tina Modotti 55 (New York, 2002), p. 29

Tina Modotti: Photographien & Dokumente (Berlin: Sozialarchivs, 1990), p. 37

Valentina Agostinis, Tina Modotti: Gli anni Luminosi (Pordenone, Italy, 1992), pl. 108

This photograph is on heavy single-weight Agfa Lupex paper with a matte surface. The paper has a pleasing, slightly warm tone and shows age-appropriate silvering in the dark areas. The print is trimmed to the image and has no borders. A portion of the print's upper right corner is missing. Otherwise, the print is in quite good condition, showing only a slight crease in the lower right corner, and some general minor wear on the edges.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

As in so many of her best photographs, Modotti combines in this study of sugar cane her rigorous visual aesthetic with her deep and sympathetic understanding of Mexico, its people, and its culture.  Sugar cane was introduced to Mexico by the Spanish in the 16^th century.  It became one of the country's꧑ principle crops, and sugar cultivation employed a vast number of Mexican workers during Modotti's time there.  The quotidian props of Mexican life provided subject for a number of Modotti's best-known photographs, perhaps most notably in the politically-charged series of still-lifes that included such objects as a sickle (likely a sugar cane-cutter's machete), a hammer, ears of corn, a guitar, a bandolier, etc.  The minimalist study of sugar cane offered here lacks the overt references to the struggles of the working class, nor does it trade on the iconography of Communism.  But, like her study of cornstalks made in 1929, it concerns itself with a significant facet of the Mexican economy, and one of chief importance to the workers with whom Modotti's sympathies lay.   

The deceptively simple composition of this photograph demonstrates the extent to which Modotti had both absorbed the influence of her teacher and lover Edward Weston, and moved beyond to form her own personal aesthetic.  Her talent for creating compelling photographs with overlapping and repeating forms, and the elimination of a horizon – as seen in Sugar Cane – is characteristic of other diverse images from her oeuvre, from her intensely formal 1924🐟 study of wine glasses (Lowe, pl. 25) to her 1926 image of Mexico City's May Day parade (Lowe, pl. 66) in which marching workers 🃏fill the entire frame. 

Tina Modotti authority Sarah Lowe locates only 2 other early prints of this image: one in the collection of the Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico Ci🗹ty, and another sold in these r♑ooms on 9 October 1991 (Sale 6216, Lot 209), originally from the collection of puppeteer Louis Bunin.