Brassai
(September, 1899 - July, 1984) |
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Night photographs of Paris Art Work
| Name: |
Brassai |
| Gender: |
Male |
| Place of Birth: |
Brasso, Hungary |
| Nationality: |
French/Hungarian |
| Birth: |
September, 1899 |
| Death: |
July, 1984 |
| Website: |
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| Past Auctions: |
Click Here |
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Quick Facts
| Known For: |
Night photographs of Paris |
| Medium: |
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| Method: |
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| Style: |
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| Fine Art Profession(s): |
Photography
Sculpture
Caricature |
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Biography
| Brassaa (also known as Gyula Halasz) was a French photographer, cartoonist, sculptor and writer Hungarian of birth. He lived in Paris in 1903-4 and this first experience of the city very impressed. In 1917 he met with the composer Bela Bartok, and from 1918 to 1919 studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest. Because of the hostility between Hungary and France in World War I was unable to study in France and moved to Berlin in late 1920. He was a keen cartoonist and while has produced a series of features drawings of naked executed in an angular, emphatic style. In 1924 he moved to Paris, where he quickly became involved with artists and poets of Montmartre. In 1925 he adopted the name Brassaa, derived from that of his hometown, and throughout the year he continued building as well as sculpture. In 1926 he met Andre Kertesz, who introduced him to the picture. In 1930 Brassaa began to take pictures of Paris in the night. These were collected and published as Paris de nuit in 1933 and showed the night workers, cafes, brothels, theaters, buildings and streets of the capital. In 1932 Brassaa was asked by Teriade to shoot some of Picasso sculptures for the first issue of Minotaure, which appeared in 1933. This commission opened a life friendship between Brassaa and Picasso. Through its partnership with Minotaure, Brassaa also came to know the surrealists. During the 1930S he continued photographing Paris during the night. It also had light shooting, such as Montmartre, Paris. In these pictures, as in all its work, he did not use manipulative methods or trick techniques. He use black and white only films and worked slowly and waited to capture the image to the right rather than selecting several. |
Samples of Work
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