Intriguing two-page autograph in French, dated January 11, 1892 and signed by writer-activist Emile Zola and matted together with his image. Addressed to Frantz Jourdain, art critic and architect, designer of the original base of Rodin's Balzac statue and a strong advocate for Rodin's work, even after the Société de la Littérature rejected the statue. In fine condition. Matted to 18 x 19 inches. From the Estate of the American singer, actor, and activist Harry Belafonte. Translated in full:

"My dear Jourdain, your letter surprises me a little, and I think that you misunderstand. It was Rodin himself who spoke of placing the statue on a heavy block [translated literally, "block of ton"] I didn't quite understand, but I see that it refers to a piece of ground which would rest on the pedestal. In any case, Rodin said he would come to an agreement with you.  I therefore do not accept your withdrawal and I will keep your letter to myself, unless you insist on withdrawing. See Rodin. All this is just a misunderstanding, which must be cleared up. Sincerely, Emile Zola."

In 1891, Zola, the newly elected president of the Société des Gens de Lettres, chose Rodin to create the monument to Balzac, almost half a century after the writer's death. The sculptor embarked on an extensive campaign of research and many years of gestation and work before completing the work which would come later to be regarded as one of the artist's supreme masterpieces.  But when the plaster was first exhibited at the 1898 Salon the critics went wild, pouring scorn on the formless block. They compared it to a toad in a sack, a statue still wrapped, a block of salt caught in a shower. They nicknamed it the menhir, the snowman. The Société refused to accept this work that broke with all the traditional conventions for a commemorative monument, and that ignored the requirement for a realistic portrait. And so Rodin kept the statue, returned the money, and refused all offers to buy it. It was not until 1939 that a bronze cast was erected in Paris, on the boulevard Raspail.

Frantz Jourdain (1847 - 1935) was a Belgian architect and author, best known for La Samaritaine, the Art Nouveau department store built in the 1st arrondissement of Paris in three stages between 1904 and 1928. He was respected as an authority on Art Nouveau.

French novelist, journalist, playwright Émile Zola was the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism. A major figure in the political liberalization of France and in the exoneration of the falsely accused and convicted army officer Alfred Dreyfus, which is encapsulated in his renowned newspaper opinion headlined J'Accuse...!  Zola was nominated for the first and second Nobel Prizes in Literature in 1901 and 1902.