BOOK REVIEW: Brassai - Paris by Night
by Paul Morand
©Brassai / Paul Morand, 2001
To photograph the night is to start with a black canvas, a brush of light here and there that reveals you glimpses of sight. What is revealed is seen in relation to the darkness that surrounds it: the night was the common denominator for “The Eye of Paris”, the nickname Henry Miller gave his friend Gyula Halász, better known by the single word Brassaï. A flaneur of the Parisian Night, he gave us insight into his explorations with the classic Photo Book “Paris de Nuit” published in 1933, a breakthrough in the history of the medium. In it he balances the urban landscape with the portrait and the documentary style with the staged image to give us a personal portrayal of the biggest theme in 20 thE century photography: The City.
