Photograph By émile Zola - Original Print - 1895 - Large Format Of Médan In Bloom 15 X 21

Original photograph taken by Émile Zola (1840-1902) from the collection of Dr. François Émile-Zola (1917-1989) / Artcurial. Print on period citrate paper, taken and developed by Émile Zola in his laboratory in Médan.
Circa 1895.

Size: 13 x 18 cm – Framed size: 15 x 21 cm.

The most faithful color match is that of photograph 1. This 13 x 18 cm format is sought after because the vast majority of prints made by Zola are 9 x 6 cm. Other, rarer prints are 18 x 24 cm. Finally, there are a few special formats, notably panoramic ones. Zola photographed (probably early in the morning) his home from the garden. On the left is the Germinal Tower, on the right the Nana Tower with the large windows of Zola's study. To the right of the Nana Tower, one can see the Charpentier Pavilion and its staircase (a pavilion built in honor of and to house his publisher, Georges Charpentier). Garden furniture, tables, chairs, and numerous orange tree planters next to the Nana Tower are also visible.

During the last seven years of his life, from 1895 to 1902, Émile Zola devoted himself daily to photography, which transformed from a pastime into a true passion. Zola set up three darkrooms for developing his photographs, one in each of his three residences: in Paris, one in Médan, and one in the house in Verneuil where Jeanne Rozerot and their two children, Denise and Jacques, lived. Relatively unknown until the 1970s, Zola's passion for photography in his later years was truly revealed in 1979 by Dr. François Émile-Zola, the writer's grandson, in the book *Émile Zola Photographe*. The major Artcurial auction of 2017 allowed numerous institutions, such as the Musée d'Orsay, the Musée Carnavalet, and the Médiathèque de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine (Media Library of Architecture and Heritage), to add previously unseen works by this illustrious photographer to their collections. Recently, a splendid exhibition entitled *Zola Photographe* was organized by the City of Versailles and the Médiathèque du Patrimoine et de la Photographie (Media Library of Heritage and Photography) from February 19 to April 20, 2025.