CAMILLE CLAUDE
- By CYNTHIA LUM
The sculptor Camille Claude will be presented in a featured exhibition at The Getty Center April 2 – July 21, 2024 – July 21,2024 Celebrated for her brilliance during a time when women sculptors were rare, Camille Claudel (1864–1943) was among the most daring and visionary artists of the late 19th century. Although she is remembered today for her dramatic life story—her passionate relationship with artist Auguste Rodin and 30-year internment in a psychiatric institution—her art remains little known outside of France. Including about 60 sculptures, this major exhibition seeks to reevaluate Claudel’s work and affirm her legacy within a more complex genealogy of Modernism. Born in northern France, Claudel moved with her family to Paris around 1881. Early on, she was recognized for both her artistic talent and her physical beauty. After studying sculpture at the Académie Colarossi, she shared an independent studio where Alfred Boucher taught. In 1885, Auguste Rodin asked Claudel to become a studio assistant.
Teacher, mentor, and lover. By working as Rodin’s apprentice, she had the chance to study the nude figure and anatomy, an unusual opportunity for a woman in the 19th century. She modeled hands and feet for Rodin’s Burghers of Calais and posed for figures in his Gates of Hell. By 1893, because of Rodin’s prominence in French culture, Claudel secluded herself in her studio to focus on creating work that would establish her own reputation.
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