A bronze sculpture by Camille Claudel, lost for over a century, was sold for €3.7 million ($3.8 million) in France.
The sculpture is part of the series La Jeunesse et L’Age Mûr, or L’Age Mûr (The Age of Maturity). Camille Claudel created many versions of the same scene: a man surrounded by two women; one embracing him while the other on her knees, in a pleading pose. Many scholars have tried to interpret the meaning of these sculptures. Some suggest the older woman represents salvation while the younger one represents temptations; others have suggested that the scene might be a representation of Claudel’s personal life.
The sculpture was discovered in an inherited Paris apartment when Matthieu Semont, the auctioneer at Philocale, was inventorying the assets. The bronze sculpture must have been created between 1900 (when the first sculpture of the series was unveiled) and 1905 (when Claudel’s mental health started deteriorating), though no records of it existed – thus making it a lost artwork. Only three other sculptures from the series were known to exist at the time – one at Musée Camille Claudel, and two casts at other locations. Claudel was admitted to a mental institution in 1913 where she lived until her death in 1943.
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On Sunday, the sculpture was sold at Philocale for $3.8 million. This was double the pre-sale estimate for the work. However, it still only ranks as the second most expensive Camille Claudel work. The most expensive is La Valse (The Waltz), a single-cast version of a bronze dancing couple. It was sold for €5.1 million at Sotheby’s in 2013.
