Nadar (1820–1910) - Emille ZOLA

This original specific portrait of Émile Zola was created in the 1890s (generally dated around 1890–1893). The photograph shows the author in later life (he was then in his early fifties) with his characteristic pince-nez glasses and the greying beard he wore in the final phase of his life. Major art institutions that hold originals of this type of portrait in their collections, such as the British National Portrait Gallery, routinely date these specific albumen prints to the early 1890s.

Nadar (Paris, April 6, 1820 – Paris, March 21, 1910), pseudonym of Gaspard-Félix Tournachon, was a French writer, illustrator, photographer, journalist, and balloonist.

- The photographer and intellectual who created some of the most famous and intimate portraits of the celebrated novelist and journalist Émile Zola.T

- The Artistic PartnershipIconic Sittings: Nadar (and later his son, Paul Nadar) photographed Zola multiple times throughout the writer's career, capturing iconic sittings in the 1870s, 1885, 1890, and 1895.

- Shared Sensibilities: Like Zola’s naturalist literature, Nadar’s photography was grounded in a realistic, un-retouched, and psychologically acute representation of the human subject.Mutual Respect: The two men belonged to the same Parisian cultural circles. Zola was a frequent correspondent of the Nadar studio, even sending hand-written notes to arrange sessions.