Camille Claudel
Genius, Sin, and Madness in Rodin’s Workshop: Part 1
Within the last decade, a nearly 2oo year old mystery has resurfaced. Once considered the greatest sculptor of the 19th century, the legitimacy of many of Auguste Rodin’s pieces has been called into question. Although the existence of and work by Camille Claudel has never been hushed up, both the woman and her work have always existed in the long shadow cast in Rodin’s wake. With a surge in popularity starting in the 1980s that swelled into a wave that has captured the imagination of many art fans, questions have been raised as to where the credit for many of Rodin’s masterpieces truly lies.
Born in 1864, Camille Claudel began her life in the small village of Fère-en-Tardenois in the Champagne region of France. (Artnet) Later Claudel’s father moved his wife and three children, of which Camille was the eldest, to the small town of Nogent-sur-Seine, located just 60 miles outside of Paris. (Webster) Although Noget was, and still is, an extremely small town, it was the place where the young Camille Claudel’s prodigious sculpting abilities began to shine.
At the age of 15, Claudel began to paint portraits and sculpt busts of her family members. (Artnet) One such work included an 1881 sculpture of her younger brother, the famous poet Paul Claudel. (Artnet) Taking note of his daughter’s budding talents, Claudel’s father took Camille next door and introduced her to their neighbor, the famous sculptor Alfred Boucher. (Artnet) Boucher ruled that Camille was talented and her talents were worth nurturing and pursuing. (Kennedy) Thus, after just four years living in Nogent-sur-Seine, the Claudel family packed up again and followed Boucher to Paris. (Kennedy)
In Paris, Claudel began studying sculpture at the Académie Colarossi. (Mahon) There she met her friend and fellow sculptor, Jessie Lipscomb. (Mahon) It was also in Paris that Boucher introduced Claudel to the man who would make and break her creative career: Paul Rodin.
“…this superb young woman in the full bloom of her beauty and talent.” — Paul Claudel referring to his sister, Camille (Mahon)
Rodin’s career had only very recently taken off. (Mahon) When Boucher won the Grand Prix de Salon, he moved to Florence and asked that Rodin take on his pupils. (Mahon) At the age of 19 (Akbar), Claudel and Lipscomb were hired to work in Rodin’s atelier on the rue d’Université. (Mahon) Claudel and Lipscomb were the only two women working in Rodin’s atelier at the time. (Mahon) This simple fact in itself began the controversy that would follow Claudel throughout her life.
In the late 19th century, sculpture was still an art form that was considered indecent for women to practice. The medium inherently demanded an enormous amount of difficult physical labor and mess. (Myers) Besides being a physically difficult medium to work with, women were still forbidden from studying the nude human form at this time. (Mahon) It was extremely difficult for female artists to obtain an academic education in sculpture, even in Paris. (Myers) They were often barred from enrolling in art universities and they were thus driven to work in the ateliers of established artists. (Myers)
If she wanted to become a sculptor in her own right, Camille Claudel had no choice and no better opportunity but to become entangled with Rodin.
“I showed her where to find gold, but the gold she finds is truly hers.” — August Rodin (Myers)
By most accounts, it was Rodin who pursued the 19-year-old Claudel. (Webster) 24 years his junior, Claudel’s relationship to Rodin quickly changed from that of pupil to model, then to muse and eventually she became his lover. (Webster) She was never, however, his inferior. According to Claudel’s friend and biographer, Matthias Morhardt, “Right away, Rodin recognized Mademoiselle’s prodigious gifts. Right away, he realized that she had in her own nature, an admirable and incomparable temperament.” (Mahon) While the association between the two artists would prove catastrophic for Claudel, these were the most productive years of Rodin’s artistic life. (Webster) This is where the modern controversy over Rodin’s artwork comes into play, as Claudel’s artistic influence can be seen in some of Rodin’s most famous works, including in the hands and feet of one of Rodin’s great masterpieces: The Burghers of Calais. (Mahon)
It is no mystery why Rodin’s most productive and creative years coincided with his relationship with Claudel.
“You can tell the difference in his sculptures before and after Camille appeared in his life. Also, there are some works which we don’t know if Rodin or Camille made; they are not signed but show signs of being made with four pairs of hands, by both of them.” — Gaël Le Cornec, 2021 (Akbar)
Despite Rodin’s aggressive, poorly hidden pursuit of Claudel, the young artist was hesitant to become involved with her teacher. (Mahon) Claudel was wary of Rodin and his long-term mistress: Rose Beuret. (Mahon) Beuret and Rodin had been together through the difficult beginning of Rodin’s career; Beuret took care of Rodin’s house and daily business, leaving Rodin free to focus on his art. (Mahon) Beuret was also the mother of Rodin’s only son, though Rodin never formally acknowledged his child. (Mahon) Some sources say that Beuret turned a blind eye to Rodin and Claudel’s affair, partially due to the fact that she had not been formally educated and therefore not as intelligent as Claudel. However, upon closer inspection it is plain to see that Rodin had the two women trapped in an impossible web.
For Claudel, a relationship with Rodin meant an opportunity to continue to practice sculpture and establish a name for herself in the art community. She knew that associating with Rodin meant entangling herself in the famous artist’s shadow, but if what he wanted in exchange for a formal education was a physical relationship, what was her other option? In Beuret’s case, she was an uneducated, never married single mother. Although it was common knowledge in French culture that men had affairs and kept mistresses, women were not afforded the same poorly kept secret. They were held to a higher moral standard. Due to this societal double standard, Beuret’s only hope to provide a comfortable lifestyle for herself and her son was to remain with Rodin, who was loyal to her in all ways besides romantically. As she was not Rodin’s wife, Beuret also had no legal standing in this situation. If what Rodin wanted was Claudel, Beuret had no way to put her foot down and she couldn’t leave.
What choice did either woman have?
In truth, when we study the story of Camille Claudel, we are studying the story of a woman who was chasing her dreams in an era that barred her from them. The scandal and intrigue of her ties with Rodin draw people to her story, but they overshadow the individual. It becomes nearly impossible to disentangle the person who was Camille Claudel from the messy web that she and Rodin wove themselves into.
This is why it is essential to study and reexamine her story. No single source discusses all that Claudel was fighting, as a young woman in 19th century Europe. Sources are often more concerned with the fact that Claudel was Rodin’s lover who descended into madness. But what drove her there?
“All that has happened to me is more than a novel, it is an epic, an Iliad or an Odyssey, but it would need a Homer to recount it.” — Camille Claudel (Mahon)
This is part 1 of a 2 part biography for Camille Claudel, based on original research by and written by Maura Valentine-Wilson MAH.
Part 2 will be posted next week!
Works Cited
Akbar, Arifa. “How Rodin’s tragic lover shaped the history of sculpture.” Independent, 14 Aug. 2021, https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/how-rodin-s-tragic-lover-shaped-history-sculpture-8026836.html. Accessed 24 Aug. 2021.
“Camille Claudel (French, 1864–1943).” Artnet, http://www.artnet.com/artists/camille-claudel/. Accessed 24 Aug. 2021.
Kennedy, Maev. “Museum rescues sculptor Camille Claudel from decades of obscurity.” The Gaurdian, 24 March 2017, https://www.thegaurdian.com/artanddesign/2017/mar/25/museums-rescues-sculptor-camille-claudel-from-decades-of-obscurity. Accessed 24 Aug. 2021.
Mahon, Elizabeth Kerri. Scandalous Women: The Lives and Loves of History’s Most Notorious Women. New York, Penguin Group, 2011.
Myers, Nicole. “Women Artists in Nineteenth Century France.” The Met, Sept. 2008, https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/19wa/hd_19wa.htm. Accessed 24 Aug. 2021.
Webster, Paul. “Fame at last for Rodin’s lost muse.” The Gaurdian, 22 March 2003, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/mar/23/arts.artsnews. Accessed 24 Aug. 2021.
