Rediscovered Camille Claudel Sculpture Heads to Auction
By Elizabeth Gillett
A bronze edition of Camille Claudel’s La Jeunesse et L’Age Mûr, 1898, which prompted the French sculptress to be viewed as a competitor to her mentor Auguste Rodin and an artist in her own right, has been discovered in an uninhabited Parisian flat. Found under a sheet during Auctioneer Matthieu Semont’s inspection of the flat, the sculpture was then authenticated by Le Cabinet Lacroix-Jeannest, who have located and helped sell over twenty works by Claudel.
La Jeunesse et L’Age Mûr, Camille Claudel, 1898.
Courtesy of Philocale and Lucy Paris.
L’Age Mûr is both an allegorical and autobiographical work, however the latter often receives greater emphasis.
“My sister Camille, imploring, humiliated, on her knees, that superb, proud creature, and what is being wrenched from her, right there before your very eyes, is her soul.”
Read from right to left, a nude female figure regarded as Youth kneels with her arms outstretched toward a muscular male figure. The male figure, Middle Age, encased by another female form—which serves as a metaphor for Old Age—turns away, letting go of Youth’s hands and following Old Age into Death.
Crafted following the dissolution of her artistic and romantic relationship with Rodin, the young girl’s features emulate Claudel’s, whilst the male figure alludes to Rodin’s Les Bourgeois de Calais, 1884-89. The older woman functions as a stand-in for Rose Beueret, Rodin’s housekeeper and later wife.
Upon its unveiling, the work was praised by critics, with one stating:
“We can no longer call Mademoiselle Claudel a student of Rodin; she is his rival.”
The sculpture was initially recommended to be acquired by the French State by Paul Armand Silvestre, an inspector of fine arts. However, the purchase never materialised, with conflicting accounts as to why. The Musée Rodin faults Claudel, claiming the Government ordered and paid for the work, but Claudel failed to provide what was paid for. Conversely, the Musée de Orsay suggests that whilst the State commissioned the work, they neglected to order the bronze version. Moreover, Rodin, who reacted poorly to the work, may have had a hand in the failed acquisition.
The sculpture’s edition stamp.
Courtesy of Philocale.
This version of La Jeunesse et L’Age Mûr, last seen publicly in 1908, is one of six that was sand cast at one-third of the work’s original size in 1907 by Eugène Blot, an artist, gallerist and ardent supporter of Claudel. Likely melted during the Second World War, the location of four of the six casts are unknown. The third cast is housed in the Musée Camille Claudel, Nogent-sur-Seine. Additional versions of the full work include two larger casts at the Musée Rodin and the Musée de Orsay, with additional standalone versions of Youth in circulation as well.
The timing of the work’s discovery is particularly opportune, following exhibitions at the Getty and the Art Institute of Chicago earlier this year, and leading into the exhibition Camille Claudel and Bernhardt Hoetger: Emancipation from Rodin, set to open at the Staatliche Museen au Berlin in June 2025.
This newly discovered cast is set to hit the auction block on 16 February 2025 at Philocale Auction House in Orleans and is expected to fetch between 1.5 and two million euros. If sold at or above its high estimate, it will set the record for Claudel’s third most expensive work sold at auction and the most expensive sold by a French house.
Bibliography
Barbieri Childs, Claudia. ‘Camille Claudel Sculpture Discovered in Abandoned Paris Apartment.’ The Art Newspaper, December 18, 2024, https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/12/18/camille-claudel-sculpture-discovered-in-abandoned-paris-apartment
Kinsella, Eileen. ‘Is Camille Claudel Finally Out from Under Rodin’s Shadow?’ ArtNet, January 9, 2015, https://news.artnet.com/art-world/is-camille-claudel-finally-out-from-under-rodins-shadow-214623
Melikian, Souren. ‘Thirst for Impressionist Works Powers Sale.’ The New York Times, June 20, 2013, https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/21/arts/21iht-melikian21.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Musée Camille Claudel. ‘L’Age Mûr.’ Accessed December 18, 2024, https://www.museecamilleclaudel.fr/en/node/337
Musée d’Orsay. ‘L’Age Mûr.’ Accessed December 18, 2024, https://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/artworks/lage-mur-1370
Musée Rodin. ‘L’Âge Mûr.’ Accessed December 18, 2024, https://www.musee-rodin.fr/musee/collections/oeuvres/lage-mur
Sessums, Martha. ‘Camille Claudel’s Genius and Story Shine in her Sculpture.’ France Today, July 10, 2024, https://francetoday.com/culture/camille-claudels-genius-and-story-shine-in-her-sculpture/
Whiddington, Richard. ‘Lost Camille Claudel Masterpiece Hidden in Cloth Poised to Fetch Millions at Auction.’ ArtNet, December 13, 2024, https://news.artnet.com/market/rediscovered-camille-claudel-sculpture-auction-2587201