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Letter from Camille Claudel to Auguste Rodin
Camille Claudel (1864-1943)
“Above all, don’t be unfaithful to me again”
Auguste Rodin and Camille Claudel had a special place that they kept secret, where they could spend time together: the Château de l’Islette, two kilometers from Azay-le-Rideau in the Touraine region of France. They went there several times in the early 1890s. The château was the lovers’ peaceful refuge from the official and social obligations of public life… and when Rodin was called away, Camille deployed the kind of arguments likely to bring him back, as we see from this touching letter with its promise of future joys. Several of the château’s upstairs rooms were reserved for them, some of which served as a studio. This is where Camille Claudel modeled the bust of La Petite Châtelaine, and Rodin inflicted long posing sessions on a Balzac look-alike, a cart driver from Azay-le-Rideau.
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Completion date :
Summer of 1890-91 - Donation, 1916
Dimensions :
H. 17.5 cm; W. 22 cm
Materials :
Ink on paper
Inventory number :
Ms.00362
Credits :
© Musée Rodin
Additional information
Iconography
- Letter from Camille Claudel to Auguste Rodin(zip, 430.7 ko)