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Gyula Halasz was born in 1899 in Brasso, Transylvania. His chosen name, Brassai, stemmed from Gyula's home town (name adopted in 1925). He served in the Austro-Hungarian army during the first World War which landed him in Berlin. While there, Brassai enrolled in the Akademische Hochschule, the Academy of Fine Arts at Berlin-Charlottenburg.While attending the institute, he studied painting, theatre, literature, and music. He then moved in 1924 to Paris and became a journalist, but journalism was not his passion. Brassai earned his living through journalism, but he continued to draw, sculpt, and paint. He was introduced to photography through writing for an art review named Minotaure. During his time writing for the review, he was asked to photograph art studios. Also, he explored photography more by writing reviews of photographs. Brassai also befriended Pablo Picasso during his time in Paris. At this point in his life he was a well-known, sought out artist. He was sent all over the world to photograph different things from cities to brothels. He is most well known for is ability to manipulate light to contrast the night (specifically street photography). He was awarded the gold medal at the Photography Biennial in Venice in 1957, and, in 1966, Brassai was presented the American Society of Photographers Magazine prize. In addition, he received the first national grand prize for photography in Paris. In 1979 Brassai was inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum. Brassai died in Nice on July 7, 1984.