A Parisian literary primer, from Aragon to Zola: the free exhibition at the Roger-Viollet gallery

Paris is a city of art: whether poets, painters, singers or writers, many have been inspired by the City of Lights. There Roger-Viollet gallery offers us a little trip to literary Paris, to meet the great authors who have contributed to the fame of the capital.

The exhibition A Parisian Literary Primer, from Aragon to Zolapresented from November 21, 2024 to February 1, 2025, reveals through 80 photographs the great writers who lived in Paris, and the neighborhoods that inspired some of the most famous works of French literature.

Of course, it's impossible to talk about Paris and writers without mentioning Victor Hugo. These two are firmly linked – but they're not the only ones! Emile Zola, its department stores and its Halles du Ventre, Paul Verlaine and its haunted cafes, the Paris of Louis Aragon in Aurélien… The capital has served as the setting for very great French novels and poems.

The exhibition brings together a selection of photos from important photographers who have immortalized Paris and its picturesque neighborhoods. These markets, these crowded shops, the second-hand booksellers along the Seine, the Montmartre district or the great restaurants have aroused the imagination of the authors, and have been immortalized in the pens of the writers. We thus find photos of Janine Niepce, Eugène Atget, Gaston Paris, Charles Marville…

26 letters of the alphabet, 26 writers and artistsand numerous views of each district of Paris, which make us want to either go for a stroll through the streets of the capital, or to dive back into the great works of French literature. The texts and images are accompanied by small portraits of the writers.

Paris and its writers are thus revealed in this free exhibition to discover this winter at the Roger-Viollet gallery.

This test was carried out as part of a professional invitation. If your experience differs from ours, please let us know in the comments.