Last spring, I reviewed here Brassaï: The Eye of Paris and was quite dissatisfied by its treatment of the famous Hungarian photographer. I felt it failed to do an adequate job of representing the chronicler of nighttime Paris and provided only an incomplete and distorted portrait. In contrast, Brassaï: The Monograph by Alain Sayag and Annick Lionel-Marie is superior in almost every respect. This is a work that places Brassaï in the context of his times and gives the reader a better understanding of the photographer's motivations in undertaking his documentary projects.
Although Brassaï was born in Transylvania and died on the French Riviera, the city with which he will always be associated is Paris. Living and working there had been his dream ever since he had first lived there as a child while his father taught at the Sorbonne. I think it was that early sojourn that originally fired Brassaï's imagination and filled his mind with the romantic images he was later to capture on film. But it took him a long while to return. Even though he left Hungary for good in 1920, as a former enemy combatant he was unwelcome in France following the end of World War I and was instead forced to first live in Berlin where he remained for four years. There he became acquainted with several other Hungarian exiles and built a base among them that would prove invaluable when he and they eventually relocated to France. In fact, it was Brassaï's Hungarian contacts who later paved the way for his acceptance by the Parisian social and intellectual elite. It was the painter Lajos Tihanyi, for example, who introduced Brassaï to Henry Miller who in turn gave the photographer his nickname "the eye of Paris" and became his lifelong friend.
Brassaï did not at first take up photography on his arrival in Paris. He instead used the friendships with his countrymen to procure journalism assignments on a variety of subjects. During this period, in 1926, he accompanied his fellow Hungarian, the photographer André Kertész, on several assignments. It was Kertész who first recommended to Brassaï that he take up photography. Years later, a bitter feud would develop between the two men over the extent to which Kertész provided guidance and inspiration to the younger man. If the present monograph has any flaw, it is in not discussing or even mentioning this falling out between two of the century's greatest photographers.
Once Brassaï had mastered the mechanics of the camera, it was only natural that he should begin photographing Paris. He had already formed the habit of wandering the city's streets late at night as he sought to recapture the enthusiasm he had felt for it as a child. He was also influenced by a meeting with Eugène Atget who had already spent years documenting the various Parisian neighborhoods in his own singular style. Brassaï turned out to have a genius for nighttime and low light photography and quickly produced the classic book that made his reputation, Paris de Nuit.
Fascinating a character as Brassaï himself was, he is also remembered for his wide circle of friends. The most noteworthy of these were Henri Michaux and Pablo Picasso. To its credit, the monograph goes into a great deal of detail regarding both these relationships.
The book contains a wide selection of Brassaï's photographs and artwork, all of which are well reproduced. Of these, the most intriguing by far are the nighttime shots of Paris taken in the 1930's. Later representations of the city, shot in daylight in 1949, are not nearly so interesting. The photographs of Parisian graffiti are fascinating in themselves as ethnological studies. In addition, there are several well written essays, including a reprint of one written by Henry Miller in 1933, as well as an interview with the photographer's widow and excerpts from Brassaï's own writings. The chronology at the end of the book is a useful outline of the photographer's life; the bibliography serves as a comprehensive guide to further reading.
This monograph serves as an excellent introduction to those not already familiar with Brassaï's work and a good resource for those who already admire the photographer.
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