A Sad Story…

Camille Claudel (1864-1943) French Sculptor and Graphic Artist - Young Girl with a Sheaf - before 1887 - lifesize - Musée Rodin - Paris (click photo for larger image)(Left) Camille Claudel - Young Girl with a Sheaf - before 1887 - lifesize - Musee Rodin ; (Right); (Right) Auguste Rodin - Galatea, 1889 - lifesize - Musee Rodin - Paris (click photo for larger image)Camille Claudel (1864-1943) was Francois-Auguste Rodin’s (1840-1917) much younger student, muse and then mistress.  When he left her, she eventually destroyed many of her works and years later died alone in a psychiatric hospital.  A tragic story underlies the great tenderness in the pose. Claudel met Rodin as a studio assistant in 1884 and soon became his lover. During this time—through to 1898—she was both the inspiration and the model for the sculptor’s vision of the female body. Some authors have suggested that Henrik Ibsen based his last play, 1899's “When We Dead Awaken”, on Rodin's relationship with Claudel. If one compares Rodin’s work with Claudel—it’s easy to see that whatever influenced existed was most definitely reciprocal. Note that Claudel’s work was created first.