Brassai – Paris
Marlene, 1937, copyright estate of Brassai
I stopped by Barnes and Noble today (Oct. 11, 2010) and happened to spot this book in the bargain bin – two dollars.
I haven’t yet had a chance to read or even really to look at it in any depth. Reproductions are quite good. Publisher is Taschen, which is apparently a German publisher founded by a comics book collector who decided to start reprinting art books in 1984.
What to say about Brassai? Looking at his images, a whole range of photographers pop into mind: Weegee, Diane Arbus, Cartier-Bresson, Bill Brandt, Man Ray, Robert Frank. Â Its pretty much impossible to try to cram him into any distinct style, but it is obvious his often-surrealistic images influenced photographers for generations.
This is not, by the way, a reproduction of his well-know Paris by Night, although it includes images from that book, along with other examples of his work.