9 January - 11 February 2018
Galerie Françoise Cachin, level 2
This exceptional presentation brings together works that had until now been in the possession of Camille Claudel’s family, acquired at an auction on 27 November 2017. The French State used its pre-emptive rights in purchasing these lots for the public, national and territorial collections.
The Musée d’Orsay, the Musée Rodin ,the Musée Camille Claudel in Nogent-sur-Seine, La Piscine – Musée d’art et d’industrie André Diligent in Roubaix, the Musée Sainte-Croix in Poitiers and the Maison Camille et Paul Claudel in Villeneuve-sur-Fère coordinated their efforts in integrating these works into the public collections thanks to the support of the State, local authorities and donors.
The sculptures will be incorporated into the respective collections after the exhibition. For conservation reasons, the pastel portrait of Louise Claudel acquired by the museum in Nogent-sur-Seine will not be on display.
The sculptures, all produced in Camille Claudel’s studio, trace the better part of her career as of 1881 when she studied under Alfred Boucher in Paris. This was followed by her encounter with Auguste Rodin, leading to their love affair and Claudel’s admission to the master’s studio in 1884, which marked the start of a period of mutual enrichment. The two artists drifted apart after 1893, before finally separating in 1898.
Claudel moved into her studio on Quai Bourbon in 1899, before succumbing to mental health problems in 1909. Committed shortly after the death of her father in 1913, she died in Montfavet (Vaucluse) in 1943.