Pierre Zucca

Born in Paris in 1943, Pierre Zucca began learning photography at a very young age in his father André Zucca’s studio. At the age of 20, after starting out in advertising and documentary photography, he began his career as a set photographer on the film Judex (1963) by director Georges Franju.

Against a backdrop of technical, political, and aesthetic changes, his work reflects the rise of the New Wave, whose free and spontaneous approach revolutionized the conventions of contemporary cinema. He worked on nearly fifty films, directed by major filmmakers such as Claude Chabrol, Jacques Rivette, François Truffaut, Alfred Hitchcock, Romain Gary, and Louis Malle. He also photographed an entire generation of artists and actors: Jean Seberg, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Bernadette Lafont, Anthony Perkins, and many others.

At the same time, he continues his work as a documentary journalist, notably in Turkey and Alaska for Paris Match , and for institutions related to the world of work. In 1970, he co-produced the book as a photographer Living Currency (Eric Losfeld Publishing) with Pierre Klossowski. He also collaborated with author Liliane Siegel on a series devoted to yoga—published in 1973 by Denoël under the title Yoga Through Images . Against this backdrop, Pierre Zucca gradually began to focus on directing.

starting in 1975, after making a few short films, he directed four feature films: Vincent put the donkey in one field (and went to the other one) (1976), Roberte (1979) — adaptation of the novel Roberte tonight (1953) by Pierre Klossowski —, Robin (1985) and Lark, I'll pluck you (1988). In addition, until the early 1990s, he directed various television films and documentaries. Pierre Zucca is considered one of the leading filmmakers of the Post-New Wave movement.

In 1980, although he had left the field of photography, he articulated his thoughts on his practice and his relationship to images in the introduction to the book Images from the World of Cinema. Set photographs by Pierre Zucca published published by Alain Moreau.

Pierre Zucca, who died prematurely in 1995 at the age of 51, left behind a unique and multifaceted body of work.