Gyula Halász, called Brassaï (Hungarian/French, 1899-1984) Transmutations Portfolio

Description:

Gyula Halász, called Brassaï (Hungarian/French, 1899-1984)

Transmutations Portfolio, 1934-35, printed 1967, published by Galerie Les Contards, 24 of an edition of 100 plus 10 artist's proofs. Signed and inscribed with number "24" on the colophon page. Twelve toned gelatin silver prints from cliché verre photographs, various sizes, each mounted within a paper presentation folder with the title and sequential number printed on the cover, in the original clamshell case, with introduction and colophon pages, and a printed English translation of the French text.
Condition: Deckled edges, a few with narrow minor scratches to the emulsion.

N.B. Though the Transmutations portfolio was published in 1967, Brassaï compiled its twelve images from the over 150 proofs he created from 1934 to 1935 after his two-year collaboration with Pablo Picasso. Brassaï produced the images by engraving directly onto the photographic glass plates, obscuring the "original" shots of female nudes to varying degrees and altering them into abstract forms and representational imagery, such as fruit. Considered his most experimental format, Brassaï pushed the conceptual bounds of the figural through fracturing and multifaceted presentation, engaging with Dadaism, Surrealism, and Cubism's similar explorations of the concept through photomontage and collage.
Estimate $5,000-7,000