Camille Claudel was born in France and became an internationally acclaimed sculptor, well-known for her figurative works in bronze and marble. Claudel's creativity was inspired by Greek and Roman mythology. The artist was Rodin's pupil and lover, the two sculptors had a complex love affair. Auguste Rodin was also involved in a romantic relationship with Rose Beuret whom he refused to leave.
Both Le Cornec and Pollock stated that after the sculptors' physical relationship ended with Rodin, she was not able to get the funding to realize many of her daring ideas. Claudel thus had to either depend on Rodin, or to collaborate with him and see him get the credit as the lionized figure of French sculpture. She also depended on him financially, especially after her loving and wealthy father's death, which allowed her mother and brother, who disapproved of her lifestyle, to maintain control of the family fortune and leave her to wander the streets dressed in beggars' clothing. In 1905, Claudel disfigured her statues, occasionally disappeared, and demonstrated early symptoms of schizophrenia as she accused Rodin of wanting to kill her.
Later on, she was brought to an asylum by her family where she lived for 30 years and passed away. For a while, the press accused her family of committing a sculptor of genius. Though she destroyed much of her work, about 90 statues, sketches and drawings survive. The Musée Camille Claudel was opened in March, 2017, as a French national museum dedicated to Claudel's work. In the end, Claudel's reputation survived not because of her once notorious association with Rodin, but because of her work.
