A Monastic Brothel 1931

Brassai made A Monastic Brothel with a camera, somewhere in Paris. Look at the way the light pools and recedes, like a watercolor wash. There's a real sensitivity to tone here, not just black and white, but a full range of grays that gives the image its depth. The composition is interesting, too. The checkerboard floor makes a dizzying pattern, and the woman is perched on a stool. Is she waiting, or is she just resting? Her body language suggests a kind of weary resignation, but her gaze is steady, direct. The man looks like a voyeur in his own brothel, leaning in and almost out of sight, like a ghost. There's a sense of intimacy here, but also a sense of distance. The setting is bare and austere, yet the figures are sensuous and alive. Brassai is a bit like Robert Frank, capturing those weird, fleeting moments when life seems to hold its breath.