Camille Claudel

Birth Name:

Camille Rosalie Claudel

Birth Date:

December 8, 1864

Birth Place:

Fère-en-Tardenois, Aisne, France

Death Date:

October 19, 1943

Place of Death:

Centre Hospitalier Montfavet Avignon, Montdevergues, Vaucluse, France

Age:

Cause of Death:

Stroke due to starvation

Cemetery Name:

Cimetière de Montfavet par Avignon

Claim to Fame:

Artists

Camille Claudel was an immensely talented yet grossly underappreciated French sculptor known for her figurative works in bronze and marble. She died in relative obscurity in a mental hospital, but later gained recognition for the originality and quality of her work. The subject of several biographies and films, Claudel is well known for her sculptures including The Waltz and The Mature Age. The national Camille Claudel Museum in Nogent-sur-Seine opened in 2017 and she was a longtime associate (and lover) of sculptor Auguste Rodin and the Musée Rodin in Paris has a room dedicated to her works. Sculptures created by Claudel are also held in the collections of several major museums including the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

The Rest of the Story …

After 1905, Claudel appeared to be mentally ill. She destroyed many of her statues, disappeared for long periods of time, exhibited signs of paranoia and was diagnosed as having schizophrenia. She accused Rodin of stealing her ideas and of leading a conspiracy to kill her. After the wedding of her brother in 1906 and his return to China, she lived secluded in her workshop. Claudel’s father approved of her career choice, and he tried to help and support her financially. But when he died on 2 March 1913, Claudel was not informed of his death. Instead, eight days later, on March 10, 1913 she was admitted to the psychiatric hospital of Ville-Évrard in Neuilly-sur-Marne by her younger brother Paul. Despite medical reports that suggested she could have been released, she remained institutionalized for 30 years, largely due to her family’s refusal to take her back.

Claudel was buried without fanfare and no family members present at the current memorial located in Section 14 at Cimetière de Montfavet par Avignon. Shortly after, her brother Paul unceremoniously had her body removed and tossed into the Montfavet Ossuary.

The 1988 film Camille Claudel was a dramatization of her life based largely on historical records. Directed by Bruno Nuytten, co-produced by Isabelle Adjani, starring Adjani as Claudel and Gérard Depardieu as Rodin, the film was nominated for two Academy Awards in 1989. Another film, Camille Claudel 1915, directed by Bruno Dumont and starring Juliette Binoche as Claudel, premiered at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival in 2013. The 2017 film Rodin co-stars Izïa Higelin as Claudel.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Cimetière de Montfavet par Avignon

Chemin du Cimetière, 84140

Montfavet, ,

France

Europe

Grave Location:

Section 14, Camille Claudel Memorial

Grave Location Description

As you walk through the main entrance of the cemetery, walk down the path with Section 4 on your left and Section 5 on your right. When you come to the circle with the tall memorial in the middle of the intersection, turn right and walk past Sections 7 and 10 on your left. Stop at the intersection of Sections 10, 11, 13 and 14 and look to your right for the former grave and memorial to the legendary French sculptor Camille Claudel.