Getty, Chicago Plan Camille Claudel Show

Camille Claudel, The Waltz (detail), about 1893. Musée Rodin, Paris.

The Art Institute of Chicago and the Getty Museum are organizing an exhibition on French sculptor Camille Claudel (1864-1943). "Camille Claudel" is to bring together about 60 works to "reevaluate Claudel's work and affirm her legacy within a more complex genealogy of Modernism." There are only half a dozen Claudel sculptures in American museums, so the exhibition should be a revelation to U.S. audiences.

Like Artemisia Gentileschi, Claudel has a biopic-worthy life that has at times overshadowed her art. She was assistant, muse, and paramour to Rodin, a relationship that cooled after a 1892 abortion. From about 1905, Claudel destroyed much of her lifework and accused Rodin of stealing her ideas and plotting to kill her. In 1913 her wealthy family had Claudel committed to an insane asylum. She spent the last 30 years of her life there. 

"Camille Claudel" will open in Chicago (Oct 7, 2023–Feb. 19, 2024) and travel to Los Angeles (Apr. 2 to July 21, 2024.) A catalog (with newly translated letters and essay by Kiki Smith) will be published this fall.