Camille Claudel, The Waltz, conceived in 1889 and cast in 1905, bronze, Musée Camille Claudel, Nogent-sur-Seine, France, Photo by Scott Lanphere via Wikipedia, artwork and photograph in the Public Domain.
If you are fortunate enough to travel to France, make the time to visit the new Musée Camille Claudel in Nogent-sur-Seine, which is about an hour’s drive from Paris.
Best known as Auguste Rodin’s lover and muse, the immensely talented Camille Claudel died in relative obscurity in a psychiatric institution. She encountered resistance from the public and her own family, and as she became successful, her relationship with Rodin was increasingly complex. In 1906, she began to destroy her sculptures when critics described her as a genius and her work as vital.
Fortunately, 43 works of art by Claudel survive and are on display in the new museum.
