Krull, Germaine (1897-1985), German photographer, trained at the Bavarian State Photography School in Munich (1916-18). She published a book on the nude in 1920, but in the course of a prolific and versatile career also produced portraits, reportage, advertising, and architectural work. In 1924 she settled in Paris, where she married the film-maker Joris Ivens, contributed to numerous illustrated magazines, and mingled with the photographic avant-garde. Her book Métal (1928), a collection of highly modernistic industrial and engineering images, identified her with contemporary New Vision photography. She continued in this vein during the 1930s, but also did portraits, nudes, and photoromans based on the works of Georges Simenon. She was also a friend of André Malraux and a supporter of various left-wing causes. In the Second World War, after a spell in Brazil, she worked with the Free French movement in Brazzaville and covered the 1944 invasion of southern France. Much of her later life, after a period as a war photographer in Indo-China, was spent in Thailand and India.
— Robin Lenman
Bibliography
- Sichel, K., Germaine Krull, Photographer of Modernity (1999)
