Camille Claudel

The 1988 French film, directed by Bruno Nuytten entitled, Camille Claudel, was about the 19th century sculptor, originally based on the book by Reine-Marie Paris, the grand daughter of Camille Claudel’s brother, Paul Claudel , a poet and diplomat.

I was impressed with the film because it was generally factual and historically accurate with a sense of authenticity, that convinced me of the characters whom were very well acted by Isabelle Adjani portraying Claudel and Gerard Depardieu who was Rodin. The cinematography was excellent as was the costuming.

I had never heard Camille Claudel’s name prior to seeing this film, and so I appreciated learning about what a talented and gifted artist she was, who unfortunately seemed to have been in the shadow of Rodin. Unfortunately due to the historical time period she lived, along with the lack of support from her brother, her mother, along with a society and culture in general, that did not encourage women to become artists.

Being rediscovered by Rene Marie Paris in the 1980s, Camille Claudel may indeed have gone unrecognized to this day. It is wonderful to find out about such an artist and it is in many ways bitter sweet to realize the travesty of being unrecognized for so many centuries, such women as Camille Claudel who seem to have disappeared into the annals of history.