How French Writer Emile Zola Developed The First Selfie

Frenchman Emile Zola is famous around the world for his writing. What’s less well known is his love of photos, and how he may well have developed one of the first methods for taking selfies.

Emile Zola was famous for writing naturalist novels

Zola lived in the 19th century and wrote many novels that are considered literary masterpieces. He developed a style that became known as naturalism, in which the author is impersonal and detached from the story. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in both 1901 and 1902. His most famous pieces of work are Thérèse Raquin, Nana and Germinal.

In later life, he became an obsessive photographer

His photos are now thought to be brilliant and ahead of their time

Zola’s photos recently went under the hammer at auction. The collection was seen by many as accomplished, because of the technical ability that is demonstrated in the photographs. He photographed people in profile, rather than head-on, which was the convention at the time. He also developed the film himself, which meant that he had a high technical proficiency.

Cézanne’s picture of Zola and Paul Alexis

He developed a means of taking selfies

What’s also amazing is that Zola developed a means of taking a selfie. Long before the iPhone was invented, he created a trigger mechanism whereby he could take pictures of himself, proving he really was ahead of his time.

Zola’s open letter accusing the French government of wrongdoing resulted in him fleeing France for London

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