Abundantly illustrated, this catalogue is a fascinating and
comprehensive reevaluation of the French modernist sculptor Camille
Claudel.
Camille Claudel (1864-1943) was among the most daring and visionary
sculptors of the late nineteenth century. Although much attention has
been paid to her tumultuous life--her affair with her mentor, Auguste
Rodin; the premature end to her career; her thirty-year
institutionalization in an asylum--her art remains little known outside
of France. Memorably praised by critic Octave Mirbeau in 1895 as "a
revolt of nature: a woman of genius," Claudel was celebrated for her
brilliance during a time when women sculptors were rare.
Featuring more than two hundred photographs along with contributions
from leading experts, this publication accompanies the first
comprehensive survey of Claudel's oeuvre in nearly forty years. With
essays exploring the many facets of her life, work, and reception; a
biography; commentary by American sculptor Kiki Smith; and a fascinating
appendix of documents written by Claudel and her contemporaries, this
volume reevaluates the artist's work on its own merits and repositions
her legacy within a more complex genealogy of modernism.
This volume, copublished with The Art Institute of Chicago, accompanies
an exhibition on view at The Art Institute of Chicago from October 7,
2023, to February 19, 2024 and at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty
Center from April 2 to July 21, 2024.
