DescriptionBorn in Brasso, Transylvania, Gyula Halász took the name of his birthplace as a pseudonym in l932, when he had lived in Paris for six years working as an illustrator and correspondent for Hungarian and German newspapers. In 1929, after accompanying the expatriate Hungarian photographer André Kertész on assignment, Brassaï decided to take up photography himself.

In this photograph, Brassaï's compositional skill is evident in the way he has framed his subjects, each lover's gaze reflected in a mirror. Such artifice and formal elegance, rather than the harsh realities of photographic realism, were of supreme importance to him. Indeed, this and many of his photographs were staged, leading to a complicity between photographer and subject that adds to the picture's sophistication and playfulness.

ProvenanceArtist

Signatures, Inscriptions, and MarkingsInscriptions: Stamped in black ink on print, verso, center: "BRASSAÏ // 81, Rue du Faub.-St-Jacques // Paris-XIVe - Port-Royal 23-41"; stamped in purple ink on print, verso, center: "© copyright by // BRASSAÏ // 81, Faubourg St-Jacques // Paris-XIVe Tél. 707-23-41"; bottom edge, center to right corner: "Tirage de l'Auteur // Photographie Originale", "Interdiction de reproduire // sans autorisation de l'auteur"; inscribed in pencil on print, verso, top right corner: "5 [encircled] // page 71"; inscribed in red ink on print, verso, center: "Pl. 78"; signed and inscribed in pencil on print, verso, center to center right: "Couple d'amoreux dans un petit café // quartier Italie // Brassaï"