Mounica Akula
RESEARCH GALLERIES
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Background:
Brassaï (September 9, 1899 – July 8, 1984), a pseudonym for Gyula Halász, is a Hungrian-French Photographer. More than that, he is also a sculptor, writer, and filmmaker and became one of the few artists who became famous in France and internationally in around the 20th century (between World War I and II). His pseudonym, Brassaï, comes from the town he was born in, Brassó (now,Brașov), it means "from Brassó". Brassaï studied painting and sculpting at the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts and joined the Austro-Hungarian cavalry regiment in the First World War. When he went to Berlin, he studied at the Berlin-Charlottenburg Academy of Fine Arts(now, Universität der Künste Berlin). Growing up Brassaï spoke Hungarian and Romanian, after he moved to Paris he taught himself how to speak and write by following the work of Marcel Proust. Brassaï became a journalist and his love for the his job and city led him to wander the streets late at night, producing the start of his photography. His first book collection was entitled Paris de nuit (Paris by night).
Style/Technique:
Brassaï's greatest influences were Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Paris. He captured the essence of the slums of Paris but managed to picture the city's high society as well. He used a variety of plate cameras to take his night time photos even after the 35mm Leica was a popular camera among photographers with the same interests. Brassai's first camera was a Voigtlander Bergheil and he then later used a Rolleiflex. His pictures presented his intentions of capturing static and motionless pictures. In his earlier and even later images, he preferred not to use a 35mm style because he believed that it restricted the use of his camera. Brassaï would always wait to take his pictures until people or things seemed like they were acting natural versus just posing for a picture. That was why the style and techniques used in his pictures always seemed real, even if some came across as lonely, he wanted to picture the world for what it was.
Website: http://www.howardgreenberg.com/artists/brassa?view=slider#7
Sources:
http://weburbanist.com/2008/07/30/10-unusually-talented-night-photographers-photography/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/22447698118867381/
https://theculturetrip.com/europe/hungary/articles/brassa-the-eye-of-paris-and-his-hungarian-soul/
http://alastair27mancoll.blogspot.com/2012/10/night-photographers-brassai.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brassa%C3%AF#cite_note-1