Brassaï

Brassaï
Bras·saï (brə-sīʹ), Pseudonym of Gyula Halász. 1899-1984.
Transylvanian-born French photographer best known for his published collection Paris at Night (1933) and for photographing the studios of famous artists, including Picasso.

* * *

orig. Gyula Halász

born Sept. 9, 1899, Brassó, Transylvania, Austria-Hungary
died July 8, 1984, Eze, France

Hungarian-born French photographer, poet, and sculptor.

His pseudonym derives from his native city. In 1924 he settled in Paris, where he became acquainted with Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, and Salvador Dalí. He earned his living as a journalist and found it necessary to use a camera for his assignments. In the 1930s he became known for his dramatic photographs of Paris nightlife. Books of his photographs, including Paris After Dark (1933) and Pleasures of Paris (1935), brought him international fame.

"‘Bijoux' in Place Pigalle Bar," by Brassaï, 1932.

Brassai
Rapho/Photo Researchers

* * *

▪ French artist
original name  Gyula Halász , French  Jules Halasz 
born September 9, 1899, Brassó, Transylvania, Austria-Hungary [now Romania]
died July 8, 1984, Eze, near Nice, France

      Hungarian-born French photographer, poet, draughtsman, and sculptor, known primarily for his dramatic photographs of Paris at night. His pseudonym, Brassaï, is derived from his native city.

      Brassaï trained as an artist and settled in Paris in 1924. There he worked as a sculptor, painter, and journalist and associated with such artists as Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Salvador Dalí, and the writer Henry Miller. Although he disliked photography at the time, he found it necessary to use it in his journalistic assignments and soon came to appreciate the medium's unique aesthetic qualities.

      Brassaï's early photographs concentrated on the nighttime world of Montparnasse, a district of Paris then noted for its artists, streetwalkers, and petty criminals. His pictures were published in a successful book, Paris de nuit (1933; Paris After Dark, also published as Paris at Night), which caused a stir because of its sometimes scandalous subject matter. His next book, Voluptés de Paris (1935; “Pleasures of Paris”), made him internationally famous.

      When the German army occupied Paris in 1940, Brassaï escaped southward to the French Riviera, but he returned to Paris to rescue the negatives he had hidden there. Photography on the streets was forbidden during the occupation of Paris, so Brassaï resumed drawing and sculpture and began writing poetry. After World War II, his drawings were published in book form as Trente dessins (1946; “Thirty Drawings”), with a poem by the French poet Jacques Prévert (Prévert, Jacques). Brassaï turned again to photography in 1945, and two years later a number of his photographs of dimly lit Paris streets were greatly enlarged to serve as the backdrop for Prévert's ballet Le Rendez-vous. Many of Brassaï's postwar pictures continued the themes and techniques of his early work. In these photographs Brassaï preferred static over active subjects, but he imbued even the most inanimate images with a warm sense of human life.

      The Museum of Modern Art in New York City held a retrospective exhibition of Brassaï's work in 1968. His Henry Miller, grandeur nature (Henry Miller: The Paris Years) was published in 1975, and a book of his photographs entitled The Secret Paris of the 30's in 1976. Artists of My Life, a collection of his photographic and verbal portraits of well-known artists, art dealers, and friends, was published in 1982.

Additional Reading
Anne Tucker, Richard Howard, and Avis Berman, Brassaï: The Eye of Paris (1999).

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Brassaï — (pseudonym of Gyula Halász) (September 9, 1899 – July 8, 1984) was a Hungarian photographer, sculptor, and filmmaker who rose to fame in France.1899 1930Gyula Halász was born in Brassó (Braşov), in Romania, to a Hungarian father and an Armenian… …   Wikipedia

  • Brassai — Brassaï Brassaï, pseudonyme de Gyula Halász, le 9 septembre 1899 à Braşov (hongrois: Brassó ville alors austro hongroise et rattachée à la Roumanie depuis) et mort le 8 juillet 1984 à Èze (Alpes Maritimes), était un… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Brassaï — Brassaï, pseudonyme de Gyula Halász, né le 9 septembre 1899 à Brașov (hongrois: Brassó ville alors austro hongroise et rattachée à la Roumanie depuis) et mort le 8 juillet 1984 à Nice (Alpes Maritimes), était un photographe… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Brassaï — (bürgerlich Gyula Halász; * 9. September 1899 in Kronstadt/Brassó, heute rum. Brașov, damals Österreich Ungarn, heute Rumänien; † 7. Juli 1984 in Nizza) war ein französischer Fotograf ungarischer Herkunft. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 2 Werk …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • BRASSAÏ — GYULA HALASZ dit (1899 1984) Photographe français, d’origine hongroise. Gyula Halasz arrive à Paris en 1923 après un court séjour à l’Académie des beaux arts de Berlin (il prendra le nom de Brassaï pour son premier livre publié en 1933, Paris de… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Brassai — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Samuel Brassai (1800–1897), ungarischer Sprachwissenschaftler, Philosoph und Naturwissenschaftler Brassaï ist das Pseudonym von: Brassaï (1899–1984); bürgerlich Gyula Halász), französischer Fotograf …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Brassaï — Brassaï, pseudónimo de Gyula Halász (1899 1984), fue fotógrafo húngaro conocido por sus trabajos sobre París, ciudad donde desarrolló su carrera. Gyula Halász nació el 9 de septiembre de 1899 en Brassó, entonces parte de Hungría, hoy… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Brassaï — fue el pseudónimo de Gyula Halász (1899 1984), fotógrafo parisino. Gyula Halász nació el 9 de septiembre de 1899 en Brassó, entonces parte de Hungría, hoy perteneciente a Rumania. A los tres años su familia se trasladó a París durante un año… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Brassaï —   [bra saj], eigentlich Gyula Halász [ hɔlɑːs], französischer Fotograf ungarischer Herkunft, * Kronstadt 9. 9. 1899, ✝ Nizza 8. 7. 1984; lebte ab 1924 in Paris. Seine Aufnahmen des nächtlichen Paris gehören zu den Höhepunkten der realistischen… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Brassaï (Gyula Halász) — Brassaï (bürgerlich Gyula Halász; * 9. September 1899 in Kronstadt/Brassó, heute rum. Braşov, damals Österreich Ungarn, heute Rumänien; † 11. Juli 1984 in Nizza) war ein französischer Fotograf ungarischer Herkunft. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”