Brassaï (Gyula Halász)

ferrotyped, signed, titled, dated, and numbered by the photographer, annotated 'Tirage par Brassaï Mme. G. Brassaï' by the photographer's wife in pencil and with the photographer's 'Photo Brassai, Copyright, Gyula Halasz, 74, Rue de la Glacière, Paris (13e)' studio stamp on the reverse, matted, framed, 1932

Collection of Madame Gilberte Brassaï, the photographer's widow, Paris

Edwynn Houk Gallery, Chicago, 1988

Acquired by the Quillan Company from the above, 1989

Jill Quasha, The Quillan Collection of Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Photographs (New York, 1991), pl. 61 (this print)

This print is ferrotyped, and has the typical hard, glossy surface of ferrotyped prints. When the print is examined closely in raking light, inconsistencies in the glossy surface can be seen throughout. Also visible in raking light are three handling creases in the upper left portion of the print, a one-inch handling crease to the left of the center of the image, a handling crease in the lower right corner, and a soft diagonal crease, 8 inches long, on the left side of the image. There are three short linear indentations in the print's lower right corner. None of these break the emulsion. A small portion of the print's lower left corner is missing. There is a one cm. tear in the left portion of the top edge, which has been skillfully repaired and retouched. There is a half-circular area of retouching at the top of the print's right edge, measuring one cm. While these condition issues may seem glaring as delineated here, they are not immediately apparent to the viewer, and they do not have an impact upon one's enjoyment of the print.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This early print by Brassaï, originally in the collection of the photographer's widow, is characteristic of his 1930s work, when his subjects were the people and places of Montparnasse and Montmartre at night.  Au Bal Musette, Les "Quatre Saisons," Rue de Lappe pictures a couple dancing in one of Paris's many public dance halls. As the couple dances out of the frame on the left, they move into the reflection of the mirror, providing the viewer a glimpse into Paris de Nuit.  

After training as a painter in the art academies of Budapest and Berlin, Brassaï moved to Paris in 1923.  The photographer said of these early days, 'during my first years in Paris, beginning in 1924, I lived at night, going to bed at sunrise, getting up at sunset, wandering about the city from Montparnasse to Montmartre' (The Secret Paris of the 1930s, 1976, unpaginated).  His desire to capture the secrets of Paris at night led him to photography in 1929.  The evocative images he produced inspired his friend, the writer Henry Miller, to call him the "eye of Paris."  

As of this writing, no other prints of this image have been located.