Brassaï (Gyula Halász)
Armoire à glace dans un hôtel de passe, rue Quincampoix

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Artist Brassaï (Gyula Halász)French, born Hungary, 1899–1984

CultureFrench

Titles

Armoire à glace dans un hôtel de passe, rue Quincampoix
Wardrobe Mirror in a Prostitutes’ Hotel on the rue Quincampoix

Datec. 1932

Place depictedParis, France

MediumGelatin silver print

DimensionsImage: 15 5/16 × 11 9/16 in. (38.9 × 29.4 cm)
Sheet: 15 5/16 × 11 9/16 in. (38.9 × 29.4 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by Franci Neely, The Manfred Heiting Collection

Object number2002.237

Not on view

Explore Further

Department

Photography

Special Collections

Manfred Heiting Collection of Photography

Object Type

PHOTOGRAPHS

DescriptionBrassaï first made his name as a chronicler of the night, with images that ranged from reflections on wet cobblestones to the denizens of bars and brothels. Here, Brassaï gave the impression of a candid snapshot made while voyeuristically witnessing that awkward postcoital moment when the client—his identity hidden—enjoys a final moment of delectation as he dresses for proper reentry into the public realm. In fact, like most of the photographer’s images of the underbelly of Paris, this image is a careful construction.
Provenance[Manfred Heiting, Malibu, California]; purchased by MFAH, 2002.
Exhibition History"Paris Photographs from the Manfred Heiting Collection," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, July 17–October 6, 2002.

"Twilight Visions: Surrealism, Photography, and Paris," Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, September 10, 2009–January 3, 2010; International Center of Photography, New York, January 29–May 9, 2010.

“History of Photography I: Selections from the Museum's Collection,” Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, November 1, 2014–February 22, 2015.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

Inscribed in black, verso, center: "P1.352"
Inscribed in pencil, verso, center: "Couple se ahabillant me guin campoix à Paris / le tirage original et ait fait pw Brassai"

Stamped in black, verso, lower left: "Tirage de l'Anteu / © Brassai POR.23-41 / 81, Fg St-Jacques. Paris - 14º", after which is inscribed: "1932"

The photograph is unsigned.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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