Irina IONESCO, born Irène Ionesco (1930-2022), French photog - Lot 91

Irina IONESCO, born Irène Ionesco (1930-2022), French photographer of Romanian origin. It was in 1965 that she became enthusiastic about photography and began the artistic journey that would lead her to exhibit her work from 1970 onwards. Internationally renowned, she held numerous exhibitions and published her photographs, always of women in make-up, dressed and carefully staged, evolving in a strange, fascinating universe. With L'Œil de la poupée, her first novel, the photographer exposes herself in an autobiographical mise-en-scène that reveals her without restriction. She is also known for having used her daughter Eva as a model, taking countless child pornography photos until she was twelve years old, for which her daughter sued her. She had her star in two erotic films, Spermula and Jeux interdits de l'adolescence, whose erotic scenes in which she appeared were later censored. Irina was published in a number of mainstream and art magazines, including L'Œil and Connaissance des arts, as well as other erotic and pornographic magazines such as Photo and Playboy. Irina Ionesco's work is best known for her dramatizations of skilfully dressed women, adorned with jewels, gloves and other finery, accompanied by symbolic objects such as scarves and sometimes other fetishistic symbols, sometimes posing in a provocative or erotic manner. Very important file concerning the photographer, consisting of autographs, letters received, photographs and documents from and about her daughter Eva. In addition to autograph letters and signed autograph cards, the autograph pieces include an autograph notebook of a text entitled "Le Lieu", a typescript of her novel "L'Œil de la poupée" (56 pages with a few additions or corrections in fine), a large sketchbook entitled "Esquisses" consisting of felt-tip drawings, copies of letters addressed to the painter and engraver Guillaume Cornelis van Beverloo, known as Corneille (1922-2010), a small booklet of handwritten notes entitled "Histoire d'Eva et de moi", as well as numerous scraps of paper and signed typewritten letters. Mail received includes requests for works for exhibitions, a letter from photographer Gilles Pandel enclosing photographic self-portraits, a signed letter from Italian photographer Franco Fontana, letters from publishers concerning her contracts, etc., newspaper articles such as an issue of the London Gleaner headlined "Irena Ionesco receives ovation on Palladium!" or an article from a German newspaper about the censorship of the film "Let's Play Love" due to its pornographic nature with her daughter, and so on. The photographic set includes prints of her young daughter Eva, photographs of the photographer and her entourage, and copies of her works. Finally, a folder contains her daughter's compositions, school work, drawings, montages, etc. Also included is a VHS cassette hand-titled "Irina Ionesco - Divan - 13.01.90", two audio cassettes and blank business cards.