Marseille

Front / Recto

Mount Type No mount
Marks and Inscriptions Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, center: Marseille paru. Inscribed in pencil on sheet verso, bottom left: Sept 1932. Stamped in blue ink on sheet verso, bottom center: COPYRIGHT BY/Germaine KRULL/PARIS [with square outline].
Provenance The artist, Paris; to Walter Benjamin (1892–1940), Paris [1]; to Gershom Scholem, Jerusalem [2]; to Gary Smith, Berlin [3]; to Galerie Berinson, Berlin, 1990s [4]; purchased by Thomas Walther; given to The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2001.
[1] Hendrik Berinson, conversation with Simon Bieling, Galerie Berinson, Berlin, February 18, 2005.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] MacGill/Walther 2000, p. 20.

Surface Sheen Semireflective
PTM

Detail view of the recto of the artwork made using reflectance transformation imaging (RTI) software, which exaggerates subtle surface details and renders the features of the artwork plainly visible. Department of Conservation, MoMA
Micro-raking

Raking-light close-up image, as shot. Area of detail is 6.7 x 6.7 mm. Department of Conservation, MoMA

Raking-light close-up image, processed. Processing included removal of color, equalization of the histogram, and sharpening, all designed to enhance visual comparison. Department of Conservation, MoMA

Format Unknown
Weight Double weight
Thickness (mm) 0.30
UV Fluorescence Recto negative
Verso negative
Fiber Analysis Softwood bleached sulfite 90%
Hardwood bleached sulfite 10%
Rag 1%
Material Techniques Developing-out paper
XRF
This work was determined to be a gelatin silver print via X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry.

The following elements have been positively identified in the work, through XRF readings taken from its recto and verso (or from the mount, where the verso was not accessible):
- Recto: P, S, Ca, Zn, Br, Sr, Ag, Ba
- Verso: Al, Si, S, K, Ca, Fe, Zn, Sr, Ag, Ba
The graphs below show XRF spectra for three areas on the print: two of the recto—from areas of maximum and minimum image density (Dmax and Dmin)—and one of the verso or mount. The background spectrum represents the contribution of the XRF instrument itself. The first graph shows elements identified through the presence of their characteristic peaks in the lower energy range (0 to 8 keV). The second graph shows elements identified through the presence of their characteristic peaks in the higher energy range (8 to 40 keV).

Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Verso or Mount (blue), Background (red)
Elements identified: Al, Si, P, S, K, Ca, Ag, Ba

Areas examined: Recto (Dmax: black; Dmin: green), Verso or Mount (blue), Background (red)
Elements identified: Fe, Zn, Br, Sr, Ag

Cover of Germaine Krull. Marseille. Paris: Éditions d’Histoire et d’Art, 1935. © Estate Germaine Krull, Museum Folkwang, Essen

Spread from Germaine Krull. Marseille. Paris: Éditions d’Histoire et d’Art, 1935. © Estate Germaine Krull, Museum Folkwang, Essen

MacOrlan, Pierre. Germaine Krull: Photographes Nouveaux, p. 55 (as Marseille [June 1930]). Paris: Gallimard, 1931.

Modern Photography, p. 58 (as Marseilles). New York: William Edwin Rudge, 1931.

Krull, Germaine. Marseille (as untitled photograph). Paris: Éditions d'Histoire et d'Art, 1935.