Camille Claudel a french sculptor and artist was also an activist for women rights, mainly people only knew her for her artistic work and did not care for peoples opinion on whether what a women can and can not do. Although her story does end in a tragedy it also shows how cruel some men really are, her legacy and art work will always live on forever and teach a lesson. On December 8th, 1864, Camille-Rosalie Claudel was born. In her early years she was educated by the Sisters of Christian Doctrine. When she was around the age of 13 she and her family had moved to Nogent-sur-Seine where she continued to learn through the help of a tutor. With the help of her formal education she began reading books from her father's library and by her teenage years she was already a gifted sculptor.
As she grew into a great artist and sculptor, her mother did not approve because she thought it was not woman-like to become an artist although surprisingly her father thought it was. As her movement to become a strong woman artist began, her career would take a different turn of events as she met the famous sculptor Auguste Rodin. It seemed as giant step forward when he was impressed by her work and wanted her to become his assistant. However, while also being his assistant she became his model and mistress all while falling crazy in love with him but the feelings were not mutual. At this time she had moved into her own home which happened to be close to Rodin's studio. Later on when their relationship began to fall apart, she found herself out of work and sculpting on her own. Not only did Rodin disappoint her in their relationship, he also disappointed her in their work together. In a sense, he took everything away from her, including her beauty, talent, and emotions.
While she was creating work and exhibiting it in major galleries, her sanity began to deteriorate as her obsession with Rodin grew dangerous. Rodin treated Claudel so poorly her brother Paul quickly noticed that she was not okay. She was later admitted involuntarily to an asylum where she would spend the rest of her life. It is devastating to hear her story and how it ended. She was becoming a strong independent woman through her artwork but that quickly changed when Rodin led her to her own downfall.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Paul-Claudel
Sakuntala, made and sculpted by Camille Claudel.
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