Camille Claudel

Camille Claudel’s work has rarely been exhibited since her death in 1943. She enjoyed a short but influential career and in many respects was perhaps the most pivotal female sculptor of the last several decades. Her elegant works transcend time and remain as moving and significant today as they were over 100 years ago. The only other American exhibition of Camille Claudel’s artwork took place in 1988 at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, in Washington, DC. There are currently only three pieces in museums across the U.S. This exhibition represented the first chance to see a collection of Camille Claudel’s work on the West Coast and was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for many of us. Camille Claudel remains an inspiration to all young sculptors; she never gave up her quest for creativity.

The story of Camille Claudel is an intriguing, and at times disturbing, combination of fact and fiction. Many of the events of her life have been lost to time, misinterpretation or heresy. Her tale is dramatic, dynamic, and most importantly has touched the hearts of people around the world.  Understanding this artist and what her life may have been like requires seeing her through her art. There are so many different accounts of Camille Claudel, her relationship with Rodin, and their influence on each other that I feel the most accurate way to find the truth is through her sculpture. All the elements are right in front of the audience: passion, sensuality, vulnerability, defiance, struggle, beauty and even age. She invested her life and emotions into each piece and we are rewarded with some of the most moving artwork of the 19th- and 20th-Centuries.