Two vintage gelatin silver prints
France, 1930s
Brassaï (1899-1984) – French photographer of Hungarian origin
Night photograph, forest: studio stamp verso
Night photograph, sea: inscribed verso in pencil ‘Brassai 1931’, presumably not by the photographer
Dimensions: 23.1 x 17.5/17.7 cm
Good, age-according condition
Brassaï’s works are leading for his time, because he mastered the then difficult technique of night photography; the auction record for a vintage gelatin silver print of a night shot by Brassaï from the 1930s is currently set at €100,000

These are two masterly night photographs by Brassaï (1899-1984). One photograph depicts from the frog’s perspective a cutout from a group of trees of a forest with the moon shining through. A further photograph shows the sea with stones in the foreground and a mountain chain in the background. The glow of the Moon lights up the clouds in the sky as well as the surface of the sea. Brassaï’s great skills as a pioneer of night photography, which was at the time still a difficult technique, becomes eminent.



The forest photograph bears the studio stamp on the reverse. The sea photograph is verso inscribed in pencil ‘Brassai 1930’, presumably not by the photographer. The two vintage gelatin silver prints are in good condition regarding their age. The corners are slightly bumped and there are slight scratches and folds. The forest photograph has got two tears on the right margin of approximately 0.5 to 1 cm length and verso two small spots of paper damage due to a former mount. The dimensions are each 23.1 x 17.5/17.7 cm.



Brassaï (1899-1984)

Brassaï was born under the name Gyula Halász and his pseudonym name can be translated with ‘from Brassó’. In 1933, he published the photography book ‘Paris de Nuit’ depicting the Parisian nightlife, which gained him international fame. Brassaï did not only work in the field of photography, he also worked in drawing, painting, sculpting and writing. (tm)

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