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3. Camille Claudel and Rodin: Artistic Genius in 'The Mature Age'

A version of The Mature Age, Camille Claudel's renowned bronze sculpture, was recently discovered in an abandoned apartment and is set to go to auction in February 2025. This moment offers a chance to reflect on the life of this passionate artist, whose works embody the complexity of her relationship with Rodin.

A collaborator and muse of sculptor Auguste Rodin, as well as the sister of poet, writer and diplomat Paul Claudel, Camille Claudel made her mark on the Art Nouveau movement with a style that blended realism and impressionism. Her life was later brought to light in the book A Woman, Camille Claudel by Anne Delbée and the film Camille Claudel, directed by Bruno Nuytten and starring Isabelle Adjani and Gérard Depardieu.

An avant-garde figure born in 1864, Claudel was one of the rare women of her time to embrace sculpture. From an early age, she experimented with clay, a talent that quickly drew the attention of her first mentor, Alfred Boucher. Supported by her father, despite her mother's opposition, she joined Auguste Rodin’s workshop in Paris in 1883, following Boucher’s departure for Rome. Struck by her early works, such as Old Helen and Paul Claudel at 13 Years Old, Rodin brought her into his team of practitioners in 1884. She contributed to several masterpieces, including The Gates of Hell, The Kiss, The Danaïde and The Burghers of Calais. “Mademoiselle Claudel has become my most extraordinary practitioner; I consult her on everything,” Rodin reportedly said. Deeply impressed by her unique talent, he also stated, “I showed her where to find gold, but the gold she discovers is truly her own,” emphasizing the distinctiveness of her creative genius, independent of any influence.

Their artistic and personal relationship, marked by intense passion, inspired numerous works. Rodin even immortalized Camille’s face in some of his sculptures. However, he never left his long-time partner, Rose Beuret, whom he married at the age of 76.

Claudel’s sculptures, such as The Waltz, The Gossips and The Little Lady of the Manor, convey her distinctive vision and vivid expressiveness. The Mature Age (1899), one of her most emblematic works, symbolizes the end of her passionate liaison with Rodin. Recently, a version of this sculpture was unearthed in an abandoned Parisian apartment. Estimated at €1.5-2 million, it will be auctioned on February 16, 2025, in Orléans.

In 1888, Claudel received an honorable mention at the Salon des Artistes Français, followed by a bronze medal at the 1900 Universal Exposition. Yet, personal tragedies marked her career. In 1910, her studio was flooded by the great Seine flood. In 1912, consumed by isolation and anguish, she destroyed many of her works, writing that she had “broken all her plaster models” and “burned everything she could.” After her father’s death in 1913, her mother had her committed to a psychiatric hospital, where she spent the last thirty years of her life.

Today, her works are exhibited at the Rodin Museum in Paris and, since 2003, at the Camille Claudel Museum in Nogent-sur-Seine, cementing her legacy as an artist and timeless genius.