"Camille Claudel was a gifted nineteenth-century French sculptor who worked with Auguste Rodin, became his lover, and then left him to gain recognition for herself in the art world. With a strong sense of independence and a firm belief in her own considerable talent, Claudel created some extraordinary works of art and challenged the social and artistic limitations imposed upon the women of her time.

Eventually, however, she crumbled beneath the combined weight of social reproof, deprivation, and art-world prejudices. Her family, distraught by her unconventional behavior as well as her delusions and paranoia, had her committed to a mental asylum, where she died thirty years later.".

"Camille Claudel's life has been romanticized in print and on film, but this is the first fully researched biography to present a rounded picture of the life and work of this remarkable woman. The author, Odile Ayral-Clause, has obtained access to the letters of friends and family and to recently released medical documents that dispel some of the myths that have been woven around Claudel's life.

She presents Claudel as a major sculptor of the period, establishing her position in the context of the late-nineteenth-century Paris art world, in which she struggled to overcome the obstacles that faced all women artists of the time. The last chapters describe in hearbreaking detail Claudel's isolation from friends, family, and work during the last third of her life and answer many questions that have been posed over the years about the circumstances of her confinement.".

"Illustrated with reproductions of Claudel's known works and with little-known family photographs, many seen here for the first time, this beautifully written book brings to life a brilliant artist, who began her life full of energy and hope that gradually eroded in the face of mental and emotional anguish."--BOOK JACKET.