Brassaï was born in 1899 as Gyula Halász in the Transylvanian town of Brassó. He grew up in Budapest and spent the early 1920s in Berlin, training as a painter and working as a journalist. He moved to Paris in 1924, where he stayed until his death in 1984. He took up photography in Paris initially to support his written journalism, though he soon committed himself to a solely photographic practice. Brassaï is most well-known for his images of Parisian life, featuring brothels, prostitutes, city streets, architecture and high society alike. His first book, ‘Paris by Night’, was published in 1933 and established his reputation as a serious photographer.

His depictions of Paris at night present eerie streets, almost resembling a smoky ‘film-noir’ set. In their suggestions of a mysterious underworld, his photographs caught the attention of André Breton and the Surrealists, which led to a ten year association with the group; although, Brassaï was careful to never call himself a Surrealist and maintained that his photographs were objective.