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Graffiti

Photograph
1933-1956 (photographed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Brassaï was a Hungarian artist who lived in Paris from 1924 until his death in 1984. Originally trained as a painter, he began to make photographs in the late 1920s following a suggestion from André Kertész, a prominent photographer and fellow Hungarian also in Paris. During the 1930s, Brassaï chronicled the city in photographs, capturing its daytime fare and architecture alongside the scandalous nightlife in bars and brothels. His first book of these photographs, 'Paris by Night', was published in 1933 and firmly placed him in the Parisian artists' circles of the day.

Between 1933 and 1956, Brassaï travelled the city recording graffiti, particularly wall markings and carvings. He was interested in the transformative nature of the graffiti, both in how simple markings could become representational and in how these markings could change over time; embellished by other graffitists or eroded by the elements. The graffiti seen in these photographs range from abstract faces to political statements, which often evolve into conversations. They provide a glimpse into the whims and opinions of the everyday Parisian citizen and were categorised into nine groups by Brassaï: the wall as inspiration, the language of the wall, the birth of the face, masks and faces, animals, love, death, magic, and 'primitive' images.

This series was first exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, in 1956 in the show ‘Language of the Wall: Parisian Graffiti Photographed by Brassaï’. It was organised by their photography curator at the time, Edward Steichen,who was also a prominent photographer himself. It was published in book format, which is where his categorisations are made clear, under the title ‘Graffiti’ in 1961.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Titles
  • Graffiti (series title)
  • Series V: Animals (series title)
Materials and techniques
Gelatin silver print
Brief description
Photograph by Brassaï from Graffiti Series V: 'Animals', 1933-56, gelatin silver print
Physical description
Black and white photograph of a wall carving depicting a bird. The bird is in profile with an exaggerated beak.
Dimensions
  • Image width: 23.5cm (Note: image and paper are the same size)
  • Image height: 17.8cm (Note: image and paper are the same size)
Styles
Marks and inscriptions
Verso: Top right, pencil: '23,5x 18' Centre, blue ink: 'A.1901' Centre right, blue ink: '134' [encircled and crossed out] Bottom right, stamped in blue ink [faded]: 'SUCCESSION / BRASSAÏ / ESTATE' Bottom right, black ink: 'Page 49 [encircled]'
Credit line
Bequest of Gilberte Boyer Brassaï
Object history
This object came to the museum as part of a bequest of 99 photographs by Brassaï from his widow, Madame Gilberte Boyer.
Subjects depicted
Place depicted
Summary
Brassaï was a Hungarian artist who lived in Paris from 1924 until his death in 1984. Originally trained as a painter, he began to make photographs in the late 1920s following a suggestion from André Kertész, a prominent photographer and fellow Hungarian also in Paris. During the 1930s, Brassaï chronicled the city in photographs, capturing its daytime fare and architecture alongside the scandalous nightlife in bars and brothels. His first book of these photographs, 'Paris by Night', was published in 1933 and firmly placed him in the Parisian artists' circles of the day.

Between 1933 and 1956, Brassaï travelled the city recording graffiti, particularly wall markings and carvings. He was interested in the transformative nature of the graffiti, both in how simple markings could become representational and in how these markings could change over time; embellished by other graffitists or eroded by the elements. The graffiti seen in these photographs range from abstract faces to political statements, which often evolve into conversations. They provide a glimpse into the whims and opinions of the everyday Parisian citizen and were categorised into nine groups by Brassaï: the wall as inspiration, the language of the wall, the birth of the face, masks and faces, animals, love, death, magic, and 'primitive' images.

This series was first exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, in 1956 in the show ‘Language of the Wall: Parisian Graffiti Photographed by Brassaï’. It was organised by their photography curator at the time, Edward Steichen,who was also a prominent photographer himself. It was published in book format, which is where his categorisations are made clear, under the title ‘Graffiti’ in 1961.
Bibliographic references
  • Brassaï, Graffiti, Stuttgart: Chr. Belser Verlag (1960)
  • Alain Sayag, Annick Lionel-Marie [ed.s], Brassaï: No Ordinary Eyes, London: Thames & Hudson (2000), pp.289-302
  • Anne Wilkes Tucker, Brassaï: The Eye of Paris, Houston, TX: The Museum of Fine Arts (1999), plates 100-108
Collection
Accession number
E.859-2014

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Record createdApril 15, 2015
Record URL
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