Camille Claudel
(1864 - 1943) |
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Art Work
| Name: |
Camille Claudel |
| Gender: |
Female |
| Place of Birth: |
Fere-en-Tardenois, Aisne |
| Nationality: |
French |
| Birth: |
1864 |
| Death: |
1943 |
| Website: |
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| Past Auctions: |
Click Here |
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Quick Facts
| Known For: |
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| Medium: |
cast bronze, clay |
| Method: |
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| Style: |
Realism, Romanticism |
| Fine Art Profession(s): |
Sculptor
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Biography
Camille Claudel's life is the stuff of novels and films, and exhibitions of her work now attract large numbers of visitors. Above all, it was the story of her unrequited love for Auguste Rodin that assured the sculptor of widespread attention. Yet, for all they share with Rodin's work, her own pieces possess power and originality. Her sculptures express vital experiences, such as love, desire, death and old age, and do so with great directness and vigor. Camille Claudel was born the daughter of a civil servant in 1864 in the French province of Champagne. She discovered her delight in modeling clay while still a child. As a spirited young woman, she insisted on fulfilling her wish to be trained as an artist when her family moved to Paris in 1881. With the support of the sculptor Alfred Boucher, she enrolled at the renowned Academie Colaros
As a young woman, Camille Claudel was recognized for both her artistic talent and her physical beauty; nevertheless, she spent most of her adult life as a recluse. Much attention has been focused on Claudel's relationship with her teacher, mentor, and lover, Auguste Rodin. Her complex personal drama has brought her prominence through scholarly and popular accounts. Yet it was first and foremost her unrivaled ability to convey narrative through marble and bronze that attracted patrons and critical accolades. Claudel moved with her family to Paris around 1881. She studied sculpture at the Academy Of Colarossi, one of the few art academies in France open to female students. Along with other sculptors, she also shared an independent studio where Alfred Boucher taught. In 1883 Boucher won a Prix de Rome and departed for Italy; he asked Rodin to serve as adviser to Claudel and her colleagues in his stead.
Two years later, Rodin asked Claudel to become a studio assistant. By working as Rodin's apprentice, Claudel had the chance to study the nude figure, an unusual opportunity for a woman in the 19th century, but one that gave the artist a profound understanding of anatomical nuances. Claudel modeled hands and feet for Rodin's Burghers of Calais and posed for figures in his Gates of Hell.
In 1893, because Rodin's work and stature occupied front stage in French culture, Claudel secluded herself in her studio to disassociate herself from him and to try to establish her own reputation. Her love for portraying the human form resulted in certain sculptures that the state and an infuriated press censored as overly sensual and inappropriate for public display. These circumstances may have contributed to the decline of her career and her mental state. In 1913 Claudel was committed to a mental asylum, where she remained until her death 30 years later.
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Samples of Work
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