Born in 1864 in northern France, Camille Claudel was a French sculptor who was not fully appreciated during her lifetime but has since become world renowned for her unique figurative works in bronze and marble. Claudel now has her own museum, the Camille Claudel Museum in Nogent-sur-Seine, and her works are considered integral to any serious collection of sculpture from this period. She is also widely known for her controversial, and ultimately tragic, love affair with Auguste Rodin, which has been highlighted by two films, Camille Claudel and Rodin, along with numerous books.
Claudel began sculpting from a young age, modelling her siblings out of clay before convincing the family cook to fire them in the oven. Her early work impressed their neighbour, sculptor Alfred Boucher, who encouraged Claudel’s family to support her artistic studies.
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