New Book Showcases Exceptional Career of Trailblazing Sculptor Camille Claudel

Camille Claudel (1864–1943) was among the most daring and visionary sculptors of the late 19th century.

Although much attention has been paid to her tumultuous life, particularly her affair with her mentor, Auguste Rodin, and her 30-year institutionalization in an asylum, Claudel’s art remains little known outside of France; fewer than 10 of her compositions are currently held by U.S. museums. Memorably praised by critic Octave Mirbeau in 1895 as “something unique, a revolt of nature: a woman of genius,” Claudel was celebrated for her brilliance during a time when few women sculptors achieved such renown. Today, the formal innovations of her sculpture continue to demand our attention, reverberating with the intimacy and emotional charge with which they were made.

Camille Claudel (J. Paul Getty Museum/The Art Institute of Chicago, $65) features more than 200 photographs along with contributions from leading experts and accompanies the first comprehensive exhibition in the United States of Claudel’s oeuvre in nearly 40 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 seeks to reposition Claudel within a more complex genealogy of modernism and rekindle the excitement of her sculptures for a new audience.

This volume 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.