Camille Claudel: A Life; Author: Ayral-Clause, Odile; Hardback; Book

Author: Ayral-Clause, Odile
Hardback; Book; 69 Illustrations
279 pages
Published: May 2002
Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
ISBN: 0810940779

Until now, the 19th-century French sculptor Camille Claudel (1864-1943) may have been best known for her much-romanticized relationship with sculptor Auguste Rodin, who has been erroneouslyportrayed as abandoning the fragile Claudel to a nervous breakdown. But this first fully researched biography of Claudel abolishes the myths attached to her life and asserts the brilliance of her art.Drawing upon ample unpublished material, including family photographs, private letters, and medical records, Odile Ayral-Clause reveals the truth about Claudel's affair with Rodin and about her confinement and death in a mental asylum. Using Claudel's own words, she describes the crushing reproofs and prejudices the sculptor confronted -- from her family, from society, from the male-dominated aUntil now, 19th century French sculptor Camille Claudel has been best known for her relationship with sculptor Auguste Rodin. This fascinating biography abolishes the myths attached to her life and asserts the brilliance of her art.This biography of the 19th-century French sculptress Camille Claudel abolishes the myths attached to her life and asserts the brilliance of her art. Drawing upon unpublished material, Ayral-Clause reveals the truth about Claudel's affair with Rodin and her confinement and death in a mental asylum