Camille Claudel in her studio in Paris (source: Christie’s)

Camille Claudel’s skill in sculpture was evident early in her life. Claudel’s entire family moved to Paris in 1882 for her to study sculpture at L’Academie Colarossi, since women were not admitted to L’Académie des Beaux-Arts. Claudel was one of the few female artists there, yet the most accomplished of all the students. When Auguste Rodin came on board as instructor, he was immediately smitten with her. He asked her to sculpt the hands and feet (the most difficult parts) of some of his most famous sculptural ensembles such as Burghers of Calais, which he then signed as his own. Many of Claudel’s works claimed by Rodin—as well as those rightly attributed to her—are on display in the Rodin Museum in Paris today.

More about Claudel can be found on the podcast Encyclopedia Womannica: listen here on Spotify. Information on the two major motion pictures about Claudel, Camille Claudel (from 1988) and Camille Claudel 1915 (from 2013), may be seen on IMDB.