Fr : version française / En: english version
mheu, Historical Museum of the Urban Environment
Police station on the corner of Rue de la Huchette and Rue du Chat-qui-Pêche
Halasz Gyula (aka Brassaï)
c. 1930
23cm x 17cm
gelatin silver print
Paris, Musée National d'Art Moderne - Centre Georges Pompidou
© Brassaï Estate - Photo CNAC/MNAM, Dist. RMN / Adam Rzepka
View this work in The Street exhibition
The artist
Halasz Gyula, more commonly known by the name "Brassaï", was born in 1899 in Brasso (hence the pseudonym), a town that at the time lay in Hungary—"Brasov" is now part of Romania. After studying art in Budapest and Berlin, he moved to Paris and began to explore photography. There, he spent his time in the company of surrealists while continuing to paint and sculpt. However, he is most well known for his photographs, mostly involving portraits of artists, as well as his images of Paris by night and his pictures of graffiti (one of which was used as the cover of the first edition of Paroles by Jacques Prévert).
Towards the end of his life, after winning many accolades and distinctions, Brassaï turned his back on photography to focus more on sculpture. He died on the French Riviera in 1984.