A leading photographer of the 20th century - Brassai

Brassaï (1899–1984)

Brassaï was a renowned French photographer who, alongside Henri Cartier-Bresson, began his photographic career in the early 1930s. The two emerged as formidable contemporaries, each carving out a lasting legacy in the history of photography.

While Cartier-Bresson captured what he termed the “decisive moment”—a fleeting convergence of psychological consciousness and emotion, rendered through candid photography—Brassaï took a different approach. He confronted his subjects head-on, drawing out their essence while simultaneously evoking a lyrical, even radiant atmosphere. As a result, his photographs possess both direct, powerful clarity and profound emotional depth.

Originally from Hungary, Brassaï was born in 1899 in the town of Brassó, then part of Transylvania, which is now within Romanian borders. He studied painting at art academies in Budapest and Berlin. In 1923, at the age of 24, he moved to Paris, where he began working as a journalist. From that point on, except for brief trips abroad, he remained in Paris for the rest of his life.

Brassaï was a man of many artistic talents. He painted well, wrote eloquently, and possessed a broad knowledge of various artistic disciplines. His natural artistic inclination rooted him in Paris, a city where he could thrive and contribute to the cultural life. He mingled with leading figures of the time, including painters like Picasso and Braque, and writers such as Henry Miller, André Breton, and Paul Éluard.

Brassaï’s journey into photography began in 1930, six years after he started his journalism career in Paris. During this time, he worked alongside photojournalists, gradually developing an interest in the medium. His friendship with André Kertész in particular played a pivotal role in deepening his passion for photography.

His first photographic subject was Paris by night. The city’s unique nocturnal atmosphere—quiet, tender, and emotionally resonant—had deeply touched him. He dedicated himself to capturing it. In 1932, he selected 64 of his night photographs and published them in a photo book titled Paris de Nuit (Paris by Night), accompanied by text from poet Paul Morand. The publication brought Brassaï international fame almost overnight.

The following year, he received the prestigious Emerson Medal in the UK. In the United States, Alfred Stieglitz organized a solo exhibition for him in New York. From 1932 to 1938, he roamed the backstreets of Paris once again, this time documenting graffiti etched into the city’s walls.

When World War II plunged Paris into chaos, Brassaï temporarily stepped away from photography. At Picasso’s suggestion, he turned to drawing and printmaking. After the war ended in 1945, he resumed photography and worked primarily for Harper’s Bazaar for the next 20 years, until 1965.

In 1956, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York held an exhibition of his graffiti photographs. In 1968, MoMA once again honored him with a major retrospective exhibition that celebrated his life’s work as a photographer.

Looking back at Brassaï’s photographic journey, his works from the 1930s stand out as the most complete and mature in terms of content and form. The 1940s were a time of temporary withdrawal from photography, as he immersed himself in fine arts. From the 1950s onward, his work shows signs of artistic decline following his peak period.

Thus, his most iconic images remain those of Paris by night and the graffiti on its back-alley walls. The former exudes romanticism and the sensual charm of red wine, while the latter, more realist and probing, delves into the truths of life. If the night photographs are emotional and atmospheric, the graffiti images confront the subject with intense physicality, emphasizing the raw, material reality of the markings.

This shift in tone reflects a change in subject matter: while Paris by night evokes emotional responses to spatial and environmental ambiance, the graffiti photographs focus on specific objects, highlighting documentary realism and a more confrontational style.

 

A Collection of Brassaï’s Photographs (Source: Google Images)