Camille Claudel & Rodin (ENG)

Much ink has flown about the tumultuous relationship lasting nearly twenty
years between Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) and Camille Claudel (1864-1943), two
of the world’s most famous sculptors. Stereotypes abound: on the one hand,
Rodin, the cruel, solitary genius; on the other, Claudel, the reviled,
accursed artist, for generations the symbol of women’s oppression. In Camille
Claudel and Rodin. Time Will Heal Everything, Antoinette Le Normand-Romain
invites readers to relive their passionate love affair, at once celebrated and
tragic, while rising to the challenge of analysing and comparing their works
with her characteristic meticulous expertise. Using the sculptures of the two
artists as a starting point, she divides her book into three periods:
Sakountala, Camille Claudel’s ambitious and romantic masterpiece, reflects the
shared passion of their early relations (1882-91), a time when they
experienced “the joy of always being understood” in matters both emotional and
artistic! The second part, Fate and The Convalescent, highlights the play of
interacting inspiration and references at the height of their liaison. In the
final chapter, the nostalgic, broken, Wounded Niobid represents Camille
Claudel’s failure as a woman and an artist. This book objectively explores the
aesthetic consequences of the two sculptors’ turbulent relationship. It also
sheds new light on the creation of their respective works in which love acted,
in turn, as a driving and destructive force.