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)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

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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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