Émile Zola's photographic archive to be auctioned at Artcurial Paris

The photographic archive of French writer Émile Zola (Paris, 1840–1902) will be auctioned at Artcurial in Paris on December 4, 2017. Zola took up photography late in 1894 at age 54, encouraged by journalist friend Victor Billaud, and produced around 6,000 images in his last decade, most of which have been lost. The surviving archive of about 2,000 images, owned by Zola's grandson, includes photographs, cameras (such as an 1898 Folding Eastman Kodak Cartridge in its original case), artist proofs, negatives, notes, and other items. Zola's photographic subjects were intimate and poetic: family life, his mistress Jeanne Rozerot (mother of his two children), urban views of Paris, and landscapes. Notably, he documented the construction of the Eiffel Tower and the 1900 Exposition Universelle in a series of 232 images estimated at €2,000–3,000 each. The entire lot is valued between €40,000 and €60,000. Zola's photographic activity remained largely unknown until 1979, when a book edited by his grandson and published by Denoël featured 480 of his images. Zola was a passionate photographer and student of the medium, favoring its truthful, unadorned depiction of reality over the realist painting of his admired Courbet. The auction is organized by Artcurial's Livres & Manuscrits department.