Camille Claudel (1864–1943) - an outstanding French sculptor. If her fate were different, perhaps she would have surpassed Auguste Rodin himself. From their difficult relationship, we have left the famous "Kiss".
The childhood of the future woman sculptor Camille Claudel passed in the strict atmosphere of a provincial petty-bourgeois family. Then a great love happened in her life, and then a crazy disappointment. The creative path was cut short by the blows of fate. One day she will be in a psychiatric hospital and spend 30 years in it.
1864–1876 Camilla Claudel's early childhood in a provincial bourgeois family
Camille's father Louis Prosper Claudel served in real estate. Mother Louise Atanis Cecile Servo led the household. The four Claudels had four children, but the first-born Henry died at an early age.
Camille was released December 8, 1864 in a small town in northern France Fer-en-Tardinoy. After two years, the younger sister Louise appeared in the same place, and two years later - brother Paul in Villeneuve-sur-Fer, where the family moved to the house inherited by Camille's mother.
Camilla Claudel Family
Louise, having matured, became a wife and mother, Paul - a poet, playwright and major religious writer of the 20th century. Camille unknown force led to sculpture. As a result, she learned to do what she aspired to from early childhood.
Driven by enthusiasm, she took her younger brother with her for walks in the surroundings and for hiking for clay. The children brought her home, cleaned, kneaded, and Camilla sculpted members of her family, who had to be her sitters. Especially often, Paul posed for her, the difference with which at 4 years old was not an obstacle to their close friendship.
No one taught her how to sculpt. She thought of everything that she did. Camilla read a lot, especially zealously studied books by ancient authors from her father’s library. Reading helped her to raise her cultural level so high that many years later, the girl will easily communicate with Parisian intellectuals.
Alfred Boucher (1850-1934), reader girl, 1879-1882
In 1876, Louis-Prosper Claudel was transferred to the service and the family moved to Nogent-sur-Seine. Here the first crucial meeting for Camilla takes place: the girl’s father decided to consult with the sculptor Alfred Boucher, who came to the city with his parents, about the frantic passion for sculpting a 12-year-old daughter. The work of the nugget child made a strong impression on the master. He immediately realized that before him was a huge talent requiring development.
1881–1885 Arrival in Paris and the meeting of Camille Claudel with Auguste Rodin
In the spring of 1881, Camille's father was reassigned to Rambouillet. He moves there, and sends his wife and children to Paris. Louis Prosper had a nasty character and an imperious nature, he was not distinguished by tenderness in communicating with his children. However, Louis dreamed of their good education and was sympathetic to Camilla's passion. In addition, he listened to the authoritative opinion of Alfred Boucher about the need to teach his daughter sculptural skills. The next stage in the life of Camille Claudel began.
In those days, it was forbidden to take women to the Academy of Arts, so Camilla entered the private art school of Colarossi. Teaming up with three more girls, she rents a room for the workshop. Alfred Boucher oversees their work. Camille is particularly interested in the young talent.
Camilla Claudel (right) with her friend Ghita Theuriet in the studio in 1881. | Camilla Claudel Museum
Camilla Claudel (right) with her friend Ghita Theuriet in the studio in 1881. | Camilla Claudel Museum. (Coloring photos - Klimbim)
Once, Alfred Boucher invited the head of the School of Fine Arts, Paul Dubois, to look at the work of his ward. Non-standard and rather mature sculptures of the young artist surprised the experienced sculptor, and he asked her: "Are you studying from Mr. Roden?" At that time, this was not a big compliment, because Auguste Rodin’s star has not yet reached her proper height. Interestingly, Dubois caught the similarity of the creative vision of these two artists.
Camilla Claudel. Terracotta head "Old Helen." Camilla Claudel (circa 1881-1882). The young sculptor is only 17 - 18 years old.
At that time, Camille did not know anything about Rodin, but it soon turned out that they not only met, but became close. Alfred Boucher in 1882 received the gold medal of the Salon and the prize - a study trip to Florence. During his absence, he asked Ogut Rodin to replace him in the girls' workshop and take a closer look at Camilla's work. So she turned out to be a student of Rodin. This was the next decisive turn in her life.
In addition to the fact that Camilla stood out for male occupation, perseverance and temperament, she possessed rare beauty. Auguste Renoir could not fail to notice either her work or her herself.
In 1884, as a student and assistant, she entered the workshop of Rodin. Camilla becomes his most talented pupil, beloved model, and after a while, beloved woman and muse, exciting his creative and masculine imagination.
During this period, Rodin executed the order of the Department of Fine Arts to create a portal for the future Museum of Decorative Arts and was completely absorbed in the composition of the “Gates of Hell”. Camilla came in handy. She not only poses, Roden trusts her to sculpt complex details - the legs and arms of some characters. This speaks of recognition of her grandiose talent and skill.
Auguste Rodin
1886 - 1893 Auguste Rodin and Camille Claudel, a time of wild love and passionate artistic dialogue
This was the period when he and Auguste Rodin were closest to each other as lovers and as two sculptors. The difference in age of almost 25 years did not affect their relationship. Each received from the other something necessary for himself. Although Camille at the time of meeting with Rodin can be considered a fully established master, she receives new knowledge and skills from an experienced sculptor, reveals herself in all the strength of her talent.
According to Matias Morhardt, editor of the Le Temps newspaper, Roden, in turn, had "the happiness of always being understood" and that it was "one of the greatest joys of his creative life." During a close relationship with Camille, Roden created magnificent sculptures depicting moments of sensual love, a manifestation of an all-consuming passion between a man and a woman. Rodin himself said that they need to be looked at through tears of emotions.
The popularity of Rodin is growing. He rotates in the upper strata of society, accompanied by Camille Claudel. A young, beautiful, educated companion suits him more than Rosa Beret - the woman with whom he lives without marriage since 1864. Both women did not immediately recognize the existence of each other.
Camilla Claudel
Camilla Claudel
When the secret becomes apparent, the situation becomes heated. Each of the women claims to be the main and only. Camilla is trying to weaken her attraction to Rodin and his influence on her as a creator. In the spring of 1986, she left for England. Rodin misses her and awaits her return. On October 12 of the same year, she forces him to sign a contract under which he, in particular, undertakes to marry her. The contract was not executed.
Their violent connection continues. Rodin rents a studio in La Foley Neubourg for a workshop in which he and Camilla enthusiastically work and where their love dates take place. But by 1892, their relationship was upset.
The building of La Foley Neubour, in which the studio was located
1893–1908 The years of Camilla Claudel's work alone
In 1993, Camilla is already working alone. She rents a room for her own workshop and delves into independent work. They still communicate with Auguste Rodin over the next five years, but then complete alienation follows from her side. She not only ends a love relationship, but also strives for complete independence from him in art. She is trying to prove her personality, she is annoyed by any comparison with Rodin, even laudatory.
Always hardy and hard-working, Camilla is full of ideas and continuously sculpts her sculptures. Her works are exhibited at exhibitions and are successful. But large orders do not arrive. Income is getting worse. It is getting poorer and becoming more and more closed.
In July 1995, Claudel received the first order from the state and began making the sculptural group "Mature Age". For an unclear reason the work was not redeemed. The plot is most often associated with her personal drama: standing on her knees Camilla is desperately trying to keep Rodin, who is carried away by an elderly Rose Beret. Maybe so, or maybe Camilla laid a much deeper philosophical meaning in this scene: a person is not subject to remain forever young, he is forced to move away from his beautiful youth and approach old age and death, no matter how much he wants to.
Camilla Claudel. Mature age.
Camilla moved away from Auguste, but did not stop thinking about him. Thoughts about Rodin were constantly spinning in her head and, it seems, never left her now. She accused him of all her troubles, believed that Rodin was not only unfair to her, but also invariably harms, steals her ideas and works, hired a whole gang in order to endlessly pursue her.
Close to Camilla there were no close people in such a difficult time for her. She was left completely alone in confusion and fear. Mother and sister condemned her for indecent communication with Rodin, did not want to communicate with her and were very far from art. Beloved brother Paul went far to China. The father tried to help his daughter financially, but could not move the crisis from her, stifling her mind.
In moments of rage, dissatisfaction with her work, or for other reasons only known to her, she furiously crushed her creations and threw wax blanks into the fire.
1909–1943 Permanent Imprisonment
Matthias Morhardt believed that the first manifestations of mental disorder appeared in Camilla around 1893, when she left Rodin. By 1911 her condition became clearly too alarming. She leads a secluded life, self-isolating herself from the environment. Does not leave the house. In the workshop chaos is happening and dirt reigns, she is panicky at the horror of the persecution by the "Rodin gang", from which she takes refuge in her workshop.
Self-isolation ended for Camille Claudel with isolation forever.
The events of March 1913 developed rapidly. On March 3, in Villeneuve-sur-Fer, a father dies, whose death is not reported to Camille. On March 7, at the initiative of the Claudel family, Dr. Michaud writes out a medical report on Camilla's delusional psychosis, which becomes the basis for her forced hospitalization. On March 10, strong orderlies penetrate Camilla’s workshop and, overcoming the resistance of a fragile woman, take her to a psychiatric hospital. Camille Claudel at that time 48 years old.
She will die at 78 in the Mondeverg psychiatric hospital in the town of Vaucluse on October 19, 1943. Mother and sister never visited her. Camilla survived both of them: her mother died in 1929, her younger sister in 1935. Beloved brother Paul visited Camille 10-12 times, his last visit occurred a month before her departure. The remains of Camille Claudel are buried in a common grave in the Montafet cemetery.
There was no positive response to Camilla’s requests to her relatives to release her from psychiatric confinement. It’s hard to say why.
Camilla Claudel in a psychiatric hospital in old age
The dramatic story of the fate of a woman sculptor served as the plot for the creation of feature films. In 1988, the movie "Camilla Claudel" was shot, in which Camille was played by Isabelle Adjani, and Auguste Rodin was Gerer Depardieu. In 2013, the film "Camille Claudel, 1915" was released, where the main role is played by Juliette Binoche.
The film "Camille Claudel"
The film "Camille Claudel, 1915"
The works of sculptor Camille Claudel are exhibited in the Rodin Museum in Paris and in her own museum, created in Nogent-sur-Seine in March 2017. Claudel, who could not get out of Rodin’s shadow during her lifetime, receives her belated recognition and takes her own place on the high pedestal of art.
Camilla Claudel Museum in Nogent-sur-Seine
