Camille Claudel, 1864 Fère-en-Tardenoise – 1943 Montdevergues/ Vaucluse

WOMAN READING A LETTER Height: 38 cm. Signed, posthumous octagonal foundry mark "Reproduction Agrandissement", numbered "4/8". Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from the Comité Camille Claudel, February 2024. The work will be included in the catalogue raisonné currently in preparation (no. 2021 - 0438 B). Cast bronze, dark brown patina. The design dates back to the years 1895-97, the artist's later, more politically oriented period. After 1892, she devoted herself to intimate scenes. Intimate retreat is also evident in the present work. The woman is shown here under the protection of a canopy, as if shielded from her surroundings. Camille Claudel is always remembered as the partner of Auguste Rodin, who was overpowering in importance at the time. Her talent was therefore not fully appreciated for a long time. At the age of seventeen, she moved with her mother and siblings to the vicinity of Montparnasse to study sculpture at the Académie Colarossa, as women were not admitted to the Paris art school at the time. Even before her fellow student Alfred Boucher left for Florence, he convinced Rodin to take on his students. This was followed by the well-known love affair between Camille and Rodin. It was difficult and ended after ten years. Camille successfully exhibited regularly at the Paris Salon. It was only after her death that she received the recognition she deserved worldwide. The Musée d'Orsay organized an exhibition that paid new tribute to her work. Permanent presentations now in the Camille Claudel Museum, which opened in 2017. A.R. Literature: Cf. Rodin and Camille Claudel, Musée Rodin, November 30, 2018. Cf. exhibition catalog, Camille Claudel Comes out of the Reserve Collections, Musée Rodin, November 29, 2018. Cf. Cody Delistray, Rediscovering the Overlooked Talent of French Sculptor Camille Claudel, Frieze, January 29, 2018. Cf. Thomas Ettl, Camille Claudel. The Supplicant of the Quai de Bourbon. A fictional psychoanalysis, Giessen 2014. Cf. Josef Adolf Schmoll gen. Eisenwerth, Rodin and Camille Claudel, Munich 2000. Cf. Barbara Krause, Camille Claudel. A Life in Stone. New Life, Berlin 1990. Cf. Reine-Marie Paris, Camille Claudel. 1864-1943, Frankfurt am Main 2007 (1401584) (11) Camille Claudel, 1864 Fére-en-Tardenois - 1943 Montdevergues/ Vaucluse WOMAN READING A LETTER Height: 38 cm. Signed, posthumous octagonal foundry mark "Reproduction Agrandissement", no. "4/8". Accompanied by an expert's report from Comité Camille Claudel, February 2024. The art work will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné (no. 2021 - 0438 B). Bronze; cast with dark brown patina. The design dates to 1895-97, therefore the later, more politically oriented creative period of the artist. Literature: cf. Rodin and Camille Claudel, Musée Rodin, November 30, 2018. cf. Camille Claudel Comes out of the Reserve Collections, exhibition catalog, Musée Rodin, November 29, 2018. cf. Cody Delistray, Rediscovering the Overlooked Talent of French Sculptor Camille Claudel, Frieze, 29 January 2018. cf. Thomas Ettl, Camille Claudel. The Supplicant of the Quai de Bourbon. A Fictional Psychoanalysis, Giessen 2014. cf. Josef Adolf Schmoll Gen. Eisenwerth, Rodin and Camille Claudel, Munich 2000. cf. Barbara Krause, Camille Claudel. A Life in Stone, Berlin 1990. cf. Reine-Marie Paris, Camille Claudel. 1864-1943, Frankfurt on the Main 2007.