The Hungarian born French artist Brassai, named Gyula Halász or Jules Halasz depending on whether one were referring to his native Hungary or his home France, was a photographer, poet, and sculptor. He made famous the art of night photography with his most stunning photos being of the Parisien underworld and red light district starting in the late 1920’s and all the way through to 1940 before the occupation of France by Nazi Germany. The feat is even more impressive when one considers a) the limitations of technology at the time and b) the fact that color photos did not yet exist, so whatever image was taken would lack the colorful neon glow and contrasting colors that characterizes many modern cities today.

Brassai was trained as an artist during the early 1920’s and settled in Paris in 1924, where most of his most famous photos were taken. During his time in Paris Brassai associated with Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro, Salvador Dali, and Henry Miller. Post war Paris was a hotbed for artistic talent, let’s not forget Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald also settled in Paris, so it’s quite amazing but not surprising that so many of the art world’s greatest contributors would be in such close proximity to each other.

Brassai earliest work took place in the Parisien district of Montparnasse, famous for artists, prostitutes, and petty criminals. From 1933 to 1935 he published two books titled “Paris After Dark” and “Pleasures of Paris” which made him internationally famous for their unrestrained look at the various groups of people living throughout the seedier areas of the city. Brassai courted some controversy because his photos were deemed to scandalous or taboo for some, which is exactly what he was aiming for. One of his famous quotes which sums up his artistic style is, “Night does not show things, it suggests them. It disturbs and surprises us with its strangeness. It liberates forces within us which are dominated by our reason during the daytime.”

Source List

https://www.flickr.com/photos/32357038@N08/with/8265166061/

Wikiart.org

https://bonjourparis.com/history/paris-photographers-brassai-the-transylvanian-eye/

http://www.ecognoscente.com/months/february10/11.html

https://benton.uconn.edu/2013/03/26/the-secret-paris-of-the-1930s-vintage-photographs-by-brassai/#prettyPhoto