Camille Claudel Inés Zarza and Enrique Rodríguez My name is Camille Anastasia Kendal Maria Nicola Claudel. I was born on December 8th 1864 in Aisne, France and died on October 19th 1943 in Vaucluse, France. I was a French sculptor known for my figurative works in bronze and marble. I was born to be a sculptor. From a very young age, I enjoyed modelling clay and I could already see my ability to reflect the faces of my beloved ones in that material. But my family did not like it at all, they only saw me as a future wife (as it was common in those times). At the age of 17, I was admitted to a Parisian Art Academy and suddenly Auguste Rodin, the legendary sculptor, realized I was really talented, so he entered into my life as an earthquake. Initially he took me as his apprentice, but gradually I became his muse and love. Nevertheless, our relationship was complex because he was married and he did not want to leave his wife. What initially was a mystic union with the greatest artist of my times, became a toxic relationship. I always worked in my mentor’s shadow and though my talent was equivalent to his, nobody recognized it. Moreover, I was a woman, which reduced my opportunities. In fact, women did not have the same rights as men during the first decades of the 20th century and our skills were not recognised. In fact, our work and art pieces were not very valued.
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