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| Couple-Amoureux-Rue-Croulebarbe-Quartier-Italie-c.-1931 |
9 September 1899 – 8 July 1984
“Chance
is always there. We all use it. The difference is a poor photographer
meets chance one out of a hundred times and a good photographer meets
chance all the time.” Brassaï
Today marks the birthday of Brassaï (Pseudonym of Gyula Halász), one of the most renowned photographers of the interwar period. Born in 1899 in the Transylvanian town of Brassó, who rose to fame in France in the 20th century.
Brassaï became well known for his candid shots of the streets of Paris and his long-time friend, Henry Miller, nicknamed him “The Eye of Paris”
for his devotion to the city. Through out his career he became friends
with a number of different artists including Picasso which resulted in
many famous portraits of the artist, as well as important books. His
first photo-book, published in 1933 and entitled Paris de nuit
(published in English as Paris After Dark), remains the most famous depiction of the city’s hidden underbelly, and is considered a classic of early street photography.
Horst P. Horst is often credited as one of the
greatest photographers of all time, side by side with Richard Avedon and
Irving Penn. His greatness is divinely highlighted on V&A’s first
retrospective of the photographer, “Horst: Photographer of Style”, opens
from the 6th of September.
