Image by Germaine Krull c. 1916 via Wikipedia
Germaine Krull (1897 – 1985)
European Photographer
Germaine Krull was the groundbreaking photographer who influential surrealist Man Ray named his artistic equal.
She is perhaps one of the most well-known representatives of the German modernist movement, New Vision, which took place in the early 1900s.
Born in Wilda-Poznan, Poland, Germaine traveled Europe throughout her youth, eventually beginning her career as a photographer in Germany.
Her time spent in Germany was both significant and controversial, as she focused on capturing the female body. Germaine once produced a series of nude photographs featuring women, which earned her a reputation for challenging the societal norms of the time.
Touring the urban cities of Europe, Germaine photographed modern architecture as well as scandalous new trends such as the cancan.
Her artistic breakthrough came when she traveled to Paris, where she was hired by popular French magazines such as Vu. In 1927, she published her first photobook, Métal, which contained her influential photos of the Eiffel Tower.
In these photos, Germaine captured the sharp geometrical construction of the Eiffel Tower as seen from unique angles. The photos of modern structures contained in Métal soon established Germaine as a key figure of the New Vision movement occurring in Germany.
Germaine soon resumed her extensive travels, publishing multiple photobooks and journeying to various countries such as Monaco, Brazil, Thailand, and India, where she became a friend of the Dalai Lama.
She continued her prominent photographic career until her death in Wetzlar, Germany in 1985.
By Finian Stroup
