Camille Claudel biography

Camille Claudel remains a captivating “icon.” This is finally the major non-fiction biography of the artist — a singular figure full of paradoxes and contradictions — about whom we thought everything had been said. While much has been written about her close relationship with her beloved brother Paul, how much do we really know about Louise, the despised younger sister? Or about her mother, Louise Athanaïse, with whom she had a complicated relationship? Or her father, Louis Prosper, largely absent from her life?

Far from clichés, Claude Pérez remains faithful to the realities of her life. With the rigor of a historian, he draws upon all existing archives to reveal the true complexities of Camille Claudel: her passionate affair with Rodin, of course, but also her connections with other artists, her antisemitism, and the controversial circumstances of her confinement in a mental asylum. He also revisits her entire artistic legacy — for although she was a sculptor, she was also a talented painter and illustrator.

This work offers never-before-published, insightful reflections by Camille Claudel herself on her art. A fascinating, clear-sighted, and unflinching portrait.

Claude Pérez, Professor Emeritus at Aix-Marseille University, is also the author of Paul Claudel: “Je suis le contradictoire”, published by Éditions du Cerf. Awarded the 2022 Grand Prix catholique de littérature, this biography is now considered the definitive reference on Camille Claudel.