Untitled, from the series "Sur la Route: Huit Photographies Prises Entre Paris et Marseille ou Entre Paris et Biarritz"

Germaine Krull was one of the preeminent press photographers in Paris between 1928 and 1937, publishing more than a dozen books and serving as one of Vu magazine’s most consistent contributors. Among her many publications were travel guides, which capitalized on her interest in photographic narrative and the rolling landscape of the road. She acquired her first car in 1929 and after that was rarely found in the city. Entranced by the freedom, speed, and mechanical form of the car, Krull would often lean out of the vehicle with her handheld camera and shoot spontaneous (sometimes blurred) photographs of the French countryside as she sped by. These pictures were likely made during a trip for either the travel book La Route: Paris et Biarritz (Krull’s publisher did the driving on this trip) or La Route de Paris à la Mediterranée, to which André Kertész also contributed photographs.