The relationship between Camille Claudel and Auguste Rodin was one of the most artistically fruitful and passionate turn-of-the-century love affairs. When they first met in 1883, Rodin was forty-four and Claudel a promising sculptor of twenty. Despite the positive response of critics to her early work, Claudel, however, never experienced fame and success. The tragic circumstances of her life - the last thirty years were spent in a psychiatric hospital - have led to considerable speculation and interest in this enigmatic figure. To some she seemed to offer the classic example of a woman artist who was oppressed and abused by a successful man.

This book examines Claudel's family background, her relationship to her parents and brother, and her behavior as documented by friends and family to determine to what extent her innate mental instability led to her eventual breakdown. What were the circumstances surrounding her commitment to an asylum and how did her family and Rodin react to her illness? Further, the author critically examines the relationship between the two artists: to what extent did they influence each other? How did Rodin really treat Claudel? Finally and most importantly, Claudel's oeuvre is investigated in terms of her biography and in relationship to her contemporaries in an attempt to evaluate her work as a sculptor and to understand the personal and artistic crisis she underwent after severing her relationship with Rodin.

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