Brassaï

(French/Hungarian, 1899–1984)

Brassaï was a Hungarian-born French photographer, credited with creating countless iconic images of 1920s Parisian life. He moved to the city in 1924, where he worked as a journalist and joined a circle of Hungarian artists and writers. After dark, he wandered his neighborhood of Montparnasse and documented prostitutes, street cleaners, and other characters of the city nightlife. In 1933, he published his seminal book Paris de Nuit (Paris by Night), which was designed by the artist himself and included 64 photographs that were reproduced. Though Brassaï is famous for capturing the grittier aspects of the city, he also documented high society, including the ballet, opera, and intellectuals—among them his friends and contemporaries, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Alberto Giacometti, and Henri Matisse. At the same time, he became interested in graffiti, seeing it as a form of Outsider Art that could open the door for new artistic expression. Originally born Gyula Halász on September 9, 1899 in Brassó, Hungrey, Brassaï adopted his pseudonym from his hometown. He studied sculpture and painting at the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts, and in 1920 moved to Berlin. By 1924, the artist’s photographs brought him international fame, and his first show at The Museum of Modern Art in New York was held in 1948, though he continued to support himself with commercial photography throughout his life. He passed away on July 8, 1984 at the age of 84 in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, France.