Camille Claudel
| Camille Claudel | |
|---|---|
Camille Claudel in 1884 (aged 19)
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| Born |
8 December 1864 Fère-en-Tardenois, Aisne, France |
| Died | 19 October 1943 (aged 78) Montdevergues, Vaucluse, France |
| Alma mater | Académie Colarossi |
| Parent(s) |
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| Relatives | Paul Claudel (brother) |
Camille Claudel (French pronunciation: [kamij klɔdɛl]; 8 December 1864 – 19 October 1943) was a French sculptor and graphic artist. She died in relative obscurity, but subsequently gained recognition for the originality of her work. She was the elder sister of the poet and diplomat Paul Claudel.
Camille Claudel was born in Fère-en-Tardenois, Aisne, in northern France, the second child of a family of farmers and gentry. Her father, Louis Prosper, dealt in mortgages and bank transactions. Her mother, the former Louise Athanaïse Cécile Cerveaux, came from a Champagne family of Catholic farmers and priests. The family moved to Villeneuve-sur-Fère while Camille was still a baby. Her younger brother Paul Claudel was born there in 1868. Subsequently they moved to Bar-le-Duc (1870), Nogent-sur-Seine (1876), and Wassy-sur-Blaise (1879), although they continued to spend summers in Villeneuve-sur-Fère, and the stark landscape of that region made a deep impression on the children. Camille moved with her mother, brother and younger sister to the Montparnasse area of Paris in 1881, her father having to remain behind, working to support them.
Fascinated with stone and soil as a child, as a young woman she studied at the Académie Colarossi, one of the few places open to female students, with sculptor Alfred Boucher. (At the time, the École des Beaux-Arts barred women from enrolling to study.) In 1882, Claudel rented a workshop with other young women, mostly English, including Jessie Lipscomb. Alfred Boucher became her mentor and provided inspiration and encouragement to the next generation of sculptors such as Laure Coutan and Claudel. The latter was depicted in "Camille Claudel lisant" by Boucher and later she herself sculpted a bust of her mentor. Before moving to Florence and after having taught Claudel and others for over three years, Boucher asked Auguste Rodin to take over the instruction of his pupils. This is how Rodin and Claudel met and their tumultuous and passionate relationship started.
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