Fortune- Claudel Flashcards
date
1902-1904,
artist
Camille Claudel
camille claudelle context
*As a 19-year-old in Paris, a student of the most famous sculptor of the day: Auguste Rodin.
-work appeared in her Salon d’Automne and Salon des indépendants.
-forgotten legacy, buried in an anonymus grave
what is the style of this peice
proto-expressionist.
aim to convey emotion and meaning rather than reality; subsequently her subjects are often distorted or exaggerated.
overall description
depicted here as blind destiny: blindfolded, she perches on a wheel of fortune which alternates between luck and decline, hands closed on randomly distributed gold.
-tilts on a diagonal axis (gives dynamism but also unease0
-semi nude and floating drapery which accentuates the speed of movement
*Her head leans uncomfortably on her left arm, which is raised, holding gold
-appears to whirl and dance with a fury (SEDUCTIVE BUT ALSO DISTURBING) but also sleeps with her head rested on her arm
what is the effect of the diagonal axis
added dynamism at the same time as creating a sense of unease. This audacious lack of stability immediately recalls ‘The Waltz’ a controversial work which she completed a few years previously
-left hand points upwards but other mirrors and poits downwards
-The serpentine shape of the figure encourages you to observe it from all angles
what does she perch on, and what does she stand on
a wheel of fortune
standing on wave-torn rocks
how does this recalls claudels previous work ‘the waltz’
- lack of stability immediately recalls ‘The Waltz’
-semi nude and floating drapery
whatare her hands doing
-holding old
-her left hand points upwards, her right is the mirror image of this gesture and points downward as if she embodies the ‘hand of god from above meting out fortune on earth’.
-gestures reminiscent of Raphael’s ‘School of Athens’ (Plato and Aristotle). It is not surprising that her work might allude to Renaissance forms given her classical training.
How can we see the agitation of claudels personal life here
The subject matter is fitting with one ‘at sea’ in a world which made her career as a female artist very difficult. This autobiographical element is typical of Claudel’s work.
how is this work expressive
- tilting of the figure suggests disorientation and unease
-sinuous curves of the figure and unnatural gestures of her arms are both unsettling and sensual at the same time
-draperys movement is tactile and expressive and sinuous curves of the figure and exaggerated rippling of the folds are evocative of water as well as molten bronze (is she standing on wave-torn rocks out to sea)
how can the influence of rodin be seen
referencing the material’s molten state and thus the artistic process though the finished piece can also be seen in Rodin’s work.
relationship with rodin and his influence
-studio assistant and lover of Auguste Rodin so was largely defined in terms of Auguste Rodin’s influence
how and why was she influenced by traditional classicism
She was influenced by traditional classicism - ancient sculpture and also the sculpture of Renaissance masters such as Michelangelo and Donatello.
had classical training
biographical context BEFORE/DURING RODIN
-work is in many ways autobiographical it is important to understand her life in order to truly understand her art.
-She was one of the first women to study art formally when this was still frowned upon because as a child Neighbour, and noted sculptor, Alfred Boucher identified Claudel’s innate talent and took her on as a student.
-boucher asked rodin to take over teaching duties in 1881, Claudel and her friend, Jessie Lipscomb, were soon employed at Rodin’s studio on rue d’Université. They then started a decade long relationship
-rodins work became more sensual during this time
-Rodin’s presence, as it would be for the rest of her life, was both a curse and a blessing. He used his art-world stature to introduce journalists to Claudel’s work. But these critics searched tirelessly for Rodin’s style in her sculptures,
-In 1892, perhaps after a miscarriage or abortion, Claudel left Rodin — terminating the physical part of their relationship around 1893, and finally cutting off all communication by 1898.
what works did claudel help rodin on
recognised Claudel’s skill, enlisting her to help in modelling the feet and hands for The Burghers of Calais (1884–95) and, later, the damned souls populating his monumental work The Gates of Hell (1880–1917).
biographical context after rodin
-The period of her work following her break with Rodin, into which ‘Fortune’ fits, was her most celebrated. She exhibited her work at the Salon d’Automne.
-artists were expected to create ‘modest’ nudes, which was not in Claudel’s lexicon. it was also hard for female artists to gain access to nude models
-wanted to translate her clay maquettes into marble. She adored the material and would sculpt and polish it herself (Rodin, on the other hand, preferred to leave that work to his assistants). But
couldn’t afford it And when she applied for government commissions to produce pieces in stone, as she did in 1892 for her sculpture La Valse (The Waltz), her works were deemed too risqué for state funding.
-She became paranoid, obsessed with hiding her work from Rodin and an imagined group of followers, which she termed “Rodin’s gang.” She destroyed much of her oeuvre, and only a fraction of it remains today.
*In 1913, she was forcibly removed from her home and taken to an asylum, which is where she remained for the last 30 years of her life.
when was she taken into an asylum
1913
materials
cast in bronze (learnt how to use bronze in the studio of rodin)
treatment of the bronze in the finished piece is equally expressive particularly the variety of textures with the smooth curves of her body by contrast to the ruffled folds of the fabric.
high tensile strength of bronze also allows Claudel to create the dramatic forceful tilt of the figure.
techniques
a terracotta model; a plaster cast and then using the lost wax technique to create a bronze.
Claudel’s models or ‘sketches’ convey her expressive and experimental artistic process.
critical reaction
fortune was exhibited in the second Paris Salon of 1904 and was well-received. The critics noted and praised her ability to project the form of the individual into space.
Louis Vauxcelles said that Camille Claudel and Berthe Morisot were the only genius women artists of their day.
what did her brother say
Her brother said of her “the woman bears engraved on her forehead the word ‘mystery’”.
