Skelett aus Stahl

Amsterdam

gelatin silver print, ferrotyped, mounted on cardboard

annotaded (pencil) and copyright stamp on mount verso

Probably the best-known photo book Metal by the German-Dutch photographer Germaine Krull shows industrial and mechanical motifs such as factories, machines, bridges and shipyards. The book is considered a milestone in the history of photography and is known for its innovative use of close-ups and abstract compositions. In the images, Krull captured the energy, power and dynamism of modern industry, reflecting her fascination with the machine age and the urban landscape against the backdrop of the Dada and Bauhaus movements. The iron structure, presumably at the port of Amsterdam, is not shown as such. The plane of focus is in the building in the background, so that the entire iron construction in front of it appears as a purely abstract pattern. In the upper half of the picture, the bright sky with its uniform surface outshines the iron construction in front of it, creating rectangular and diamond-shaped white fields that seem to take on a life of their own.
(Christoph Fuchs and Fritz Simak)