2011 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Question raised by Emile Zola's literary depictions with respect to visual arts

Research Project

Project/Area Number	22720131
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Research Field	European literature (English literature excluded)
Research Institution	Hosei University (2011) Musashi University (2010)
Principal Investigator	TAKAHASHI Ai 法政大学, 社会学部, 専任講師 (80557281)
Project Period (FY)	2010 – 2011
Keywords	ゾラ / 自然主義 / 描写 / 美術批評 / マネ / 印象派 / アカデミスム / ジェルヴェクス
Research Abstract	This study examines Emile Zola's literary depictions in connection with the visual arts through an exploration of the history of 19^<th> century paintings and the reception and development of photography. After a thorough reading of Zola's novels, artistic critiques, and letters, we conducted an inquiry that considers themes such as Japonisme paintings, the artistic pursuits of impressionists, and the works of painters under the influence of academism to expose the particularities of Zola's depictions in his Les Rougon-Macquart series. For our research, we visited French museums and their affiliated libraries during summer recesses of 2010 and 2011 in order to examine the paintings, photography, and literature that would become the subject of our discussion. During the academic year, we collected materials relevant to our research from various sources, such as university libraries, to enhance our analyses.