The love of art often creates a passionate relationship between artists, be it friendship, affection, or even a love affair. This was the case with Auguste Rodin and Camille Claudel, two passionate sculptors. Although they had an intense love affair, the lies and deceptions could not make it last forever. They even brought about a tragic end, a separation to death.
Who were Auguste Rodin and Camille Claudel?
Of Parisian origin, Auguste Rodin came from a modest family. He was born on 12 November 1840 in the same city. As a child he was not very good at school. However, he was already interested in sculpture. Because of this, he joined the Special School of Drawings and Mathmatics at the age of 14, to which he devoted his life.
Camille Claudel was born in 1864 in Nogent-Sur-Seine. Her family was bourgeois, and her relationship with her mother was complicated. Observed by Alfred Boucher, a professional sculptor and trainer, the young woman began her passion for sculpture with him.
A passionate love, tied together by the love of art!
Camille Claudel began studying sculpture at the Colarossi Academy when Alfred Boucher convinced her parents to move to Paris. She then joined the artist's studio in Notre Dame des Champs, where she developed her horizons with other women artists. She also met Auguste Rodin, when he replaced Alfred Boucher in the studio. He became her trainer and also took her as a model. The two artists often worked together on a sculpture project. Gradually they became friends and formed a bond of affection that turned into a passionate relationship. Despite their age difference and a secret relationship, they could not get enough of each other.
Lies and deception led to a tragic end
Behind their secret love was a woman. Auguste Rodin had already been in a relationship for more than 50 years with Rose Beuret, his first model and first youthful love. In fact, the male artist decided to marry her in 1917, just two weeks before her death. Upon discovering this relationship, Camille Claudel decided to separate from the man and build her own works of art. She distanced herself, despite her passionate love, which she believed would last forever. However, the great man increased in popularity, while the works of the woman artist were always reduced to his own. Caught up in the turmoil, Camille became so paranoid that she ends up being committed to an asylum by her mother, for the rest of her life, without ever having any visitors.