Friday, March 6, 2009

The Friday Evening Nudes

The Nudes of Brassai
(click on the link for a short biography)

Brassai (link to works on Artlex) (pseudonym of Gyula Halász) (9 September 1899 – 8 July 1984) the Hungarian photographer, sculptor, and filmmaker who rose to fame in France.




I'm mad in love with this photographer; both nudes and night-time street scenes, which I hope to feature in a future post. But if I don't get around to it, check out his work on the net.

I keep telling myself that I couldn't possibly have walked by one of paintings in some museum and kept walking; yet I don't recall ever having seen one in person.

Happy Friday and a great weekend to you all.
Love,
Pagan Sphinx

20 comments:

  1. oh these are so lovely! I will definitely check out more of his work, it's beautiful...thank you for such a wonderfully inspiring post today.....

    it's great to see you again!! ;)

    xoxox

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  2. I love them all but the last one is amazing

    what a pattern and the tone, the light is superb

    thanks for sharing

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  3. You can see his deep appreciation for form. You made great choices for the ones you posted.

    Have a good weekend. Crow sent word he's taken a side trip to Peru - ran into clan of condors on his way east and diverted south ;-)

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  4. Love the last one.
    I find the headless ones disturbing.

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  5. Susan: Crow has the right idea. :-)
    And I agree with your opinion about Brassai's love of form. I think that's what the nudes are all about.

    Bobbie: I find them less disturbing than certain sculptures I've seen where the heads have been severed or broken off due to some form of damage. Damaged art, especially in war zones, has a particularly disturbing effect on me.

    Linda: I am totally in love with his nighttime Paris street scenes. It's not just the location that makes them appealing; no, not at all; it's also the lighting and shadows and mystique he was able to create with his pictures. Wow.

    Dianne and Kenju: glad you came by, ladies!

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  6. Hi my friend, Brassai certainly has a way, love the last one.

    Thanks for your visit and kind comments, I too like the Rusty Shoe, it was just as it was, no planning to do. Wonder what tale it could tell.

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  7. Fabulous photos .. I have never seen them or heard of him before so thanks for that AND for stopping by and leaving such a nice comment!

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  8. These are gorgeous. I couldn't help but think that our friend Steve E. needs to see the first two because isn't that what was giving him problems the other day in his life drawing class? Maybe they could help him clarify the shadow/form issue.

    I suppose it might be bad form to discuss S.E. while he's not here, so I apologize in advance.

    Gina - I really love these. I modeled for a guy who did black and white photography and Brassai was one of the artists he tried to emulate.

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  9. Lisa: I hope you have copies of the photos he took of you. I'm betting they're really good.

    The only one I've modeled for was was CR - when we were married, of course. And talk about taking liberties telling people that without his consent. Though I'm quite certain he'll be okay with it. The reason I even bring it up is that I'm glad I have those pictures. They are prized by me as a reminder to love my body; which I didn't appreciate enough even at the time when I had no reason to complain about it!

    I'm glad you enjoyed these.

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  10. imac: I'm currently really into him and shopping for a good deal on a book of his photos.

    Daryl: oh, you're most welcome. You take excellent pictures. I'm glad you paid a visit!

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  11. i love these nudes and that you appreciate the beauty of them (how can you not!? hehe.. but i imagine some people shy away from the erotic).

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  12. Floreta: hi and welcome! I'm glad you came by. I enjoyed both the writing and the photography on your blog. I will be back!

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  13. Hot-ototototototot!

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  14. JCF: I'm glad I'm instrumental in keeping your Fridays warm this winter!

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  15. I love the way you express your admiration about him by sayoing that you "couldn't possibly have walked by one of paintings in some museum and kept walking". That's rhe most beautiful cimpliment that you could express about one of you favorite artist.
    I'm going to try to find night-time street scenes too.
    These nudes are timeless. But I imagine that when they've been taken in picture, these artworks were embarassing for the good thinking minds !
    Thanks for the find. I diidn't know him.

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  16. He worked with a painter's eye.

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  17. Cool stuff! I checked out the link to his other works, and apparently there's some of his photography on display at UNC Chapel Hill. Might have to get over there and check it out. Of course, I'm pretty sure they'd never let my camera in there, but...

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  18. Catherine: I'm so glad you enjoyed these! I'll be posting some of the street scenes soon. Hope you come by and add your impressions.

    Aileni: Painterly is a good way to put it.

    Mojo: Great that you discovered some of Brassai's work so close to home. Photographs are usually hard to take pictures of because they're almost always encased in glass; even if you were allowed to photograph. Though that's not ever stopped me! I sometimes just click away just to have a handy recollection of whatever I fancy.

    Thanks for coming by!

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  19. Sorry I was out of commission Friday... I love these! The first two are so abstract! The second one, though, is also so much about the rib cage, and the beauty of its edge in a reclining pose.

    The second one took my breath - it's that black bow at the bottom of the corset - so erotic to have that precisely there, with the ends touching, ticking the top of the beautiful flesh.

    But the last one is my favorite. I love this patterning on the figure. Lovely, tactile, a feast for a maker of marks.

    ReplyDelete

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