Brassai: For the Love of Paris

by Brassaï, Agnes de Gouvion Saint-Cyr

This striking monograph celebrates the beauty of Paris, Brassai's muse throughout his career. Hungarian-born photographer Brassai dedicated more than fifty years of his artistic creation to capturing his adoptive city in all its facets. From winsome children playing in the public gardens to an amorous couple on an amusement park attraction, from opera and ballet stars to prostitutes and vagrants, and from cobblestone alleyways to ephemeral graffiti, his photographs embody the very essence of Paris. In an interview shortly before his death in 1984, he explained how Paris had served as an infinite source of inspiration and had reigned as the unifying theme that characterized each phrase of his artistic work.

Genres: Photography, France, Art

256 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2014

About the author

George Brassaï (pseudonym of Gyula Halász) (9 September 1899 — 8 July 1984) was a Hungarian photographer, sculptor, and filmmaker who rose to international fame in France in the 20th century. He was one of the numerous Hungarian artists who flourished in Paris beginning between the World Wars. In the early 21st century, the discovery of more than 200 letters and hundreds of drawings and other items from the period 1940–1984 has provided scholars with material for understanding his later life and career.

Reviews

[Kamma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures

[fióka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kicsi, zsebverziója a nagy Párizs-albumoknak, van benne egy kicsi mindenből. Ami miatt szenzációs, az az, hogy benne van a világ legjobb fotója, a Les escaliers du Montmartre, ugyan kicsit apró, de sebaj, megvan az nagyobb kiadásban is. Ami zavaró, az az pl. hogy az Un homme meurt dans la rue, boulevard de la Glaciére, 1932 – sorozat rossz időrendi sorrendben lett beszerkesztve, nagyjából úgy néz ki, mintha az alapján rendezte volna sorba a szerkesztő, hogy hány ember van a hulla körül. Öreg hiba. Néhány fotó más címmel szerepel, mint ahogy ismertem, de ez sem tragédia, így is meg lehet őket találni, ha az ember netán keresné adatbázisokban. Kicsi, jó minőségű és hát Brassaï. Kell ennél több? (Igen, egy nagyobb Brassaï album.)

[Lucrezia Baldo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the change to read this book before publication and the pictures inside it are simply fantastic. I think this is a beautiful pocket size book to bring back home from a trip to Paris as a souvenir or to gift to someone special who might be in love with Paris or black and white photography!

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the photos of the children, the exquisitely dressed women, and scenes around the city in the 1930's and '40's. I was not fond of the graffiti or Pica sso sections. Some of these black and white photos are truly classics. Kristi & Abby Tabby

[Debbie Robson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paris Brassai is a lovely sturdy little softcover book featuring the photographs of Brassai a French Hungarian photographer, sculptor, medalist, writer and filmmaker, 1899-1984. I love his black and white photographs. Favourites are Sunday painter 1946, Itinerant photographer 1930, The Luxembourg Gardens in winter, Painter on the quayside 1937, Lamplighter 1933, Pont due Carrousel 1936, Pont Neuf 1936, Car headlights on Avenue de l’Observatoire 1934, The chimeras contemplating the Ile de la Cite and the rest of Paris 1936, Dressing room at the Folies Bergere 1932, Unloading at Les Halles market 1931-32 and Staircase in Montmartre 1935. Highly recommended. A steal at only $15.00.