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.