Brassaï

{Brassai: Paris by Night (Bulfinch Press, 2001) and
Paris de Nuit - Brassai (Art et Metiers Graphiques, 1933)}

{Brassaï photographing Paris at night, 1932; source: LA County Museum of Art}

{Les Escaliers de Montmartre, 1936; source: lemonde}

{No title given; source: sealmaiden on soup.io}

{Chateau tremlant; source: laurence.perrigault.free.fr}

{Avenue de l’Observatoire, 1934; source: ackland.org}

{Pont neuf; source: clusterflock.org}

{No title; source: labombetaencesa.wordpress.com}

{No title; source: gonzoaboutstyle.blogspot}

{Beggar in metro; source: iphotocentral.com}

{L'Africain; source: laurence.perrigault.free.fr}

{Une Fille, Rue de la Reynie et Rue Quincampoix, c.1932}

{women dancing; source: bolsh_july livejournal}

{Brasserie; source: bolsh_july livejournal}

{Lady musician on quay; source: bolsh_july livejournal}

In 1924, he wrote his parents:

Depuis mon arrivée à Paris, c’est ce qui m’intéresse le plus: comment Paris vit et bouge, mais aussi comment les hommes bougent avec lui aujourd’hui […] non, Paris n’est pas encore un musée, comme Florence et Rome, c’est une ville très vivante.
-- Actualités 34, LeMonde.fr

Brassai was a philosopher, reader, writer, and photographer with a passion for literature. He found a place in history when he published his book Paris de nuit (Paris by Night) in 1933 and claimed the night as his subject. Brassai used shadows as skillfully as he used light to construct nighttime pictures. The shadows and reflections that he was able to capture on film, release the worlds of the imagination and desire. He taught the viewer to love what cannot be seen in a photograph and penetrated the secret of light and night. His photographs provoke questions that ask the viewer to search for answers.
-- SEASONS OF PARIS, An Ackland Art Museum Exhibit at the University of North Carolina

Brassaï article in wikipedia