Paul and Camille Claudel were brother and sister, both
extraordinarily gifted artistic people.
Paul Claudel (1868-1955) converted to Catholicism at the age of
18 and became famous as a Catholic author with a very complex and
elitist style of writing. He traveled extensively and had a successful
political career as ambassador to several countries in the Far East and
to Washington, D.C.
Camille Claudel (1864-1943) fought against the prejudices of
her time to become a sculptress. She was an apprentice in Auguste Rodin’s
studio, his model, mistress and collaborator. Rodin soon realized that
she was very gifted. When Camille asked Rodin to marry her, he refused.
They separated, but Camille’s passion, both for Rodin as a man and for
his work, was so strong that she could not survive that separation
without loosing herself in alcoholism, depression, and paranoia.
Both her famous brother and her mother were so ashamed of her
"misbehaviors" that they had her committed to a mental
institution where she did not die until 30 years later.
Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) is considered the
"Michelangelo" of the beginning of the 20th
century. His first sculpture, of a very strong young man in the nude,
was so stunning that people accused the artist of having made a mold of
his model. Rodin’s sculptures, like Michelangelo’s, are impressive
by their realism and sense of strength. Rodin’s works combine great
beauty and dramatic passion. He made numerous clay and plaster models in
several different sizes of his bronze statues. Repeatedly he received
commissions for copies of his statues in marble.
Where to See Sculptures by Rodin in Southern California
There are two rooms dedicated to Rodin’s work in the L.A.
County Museum. Several of his statues can also be seen in LACMA’s
Sculpture Garden. The other local museum where you can see a lot of
sculptures by Rodin is the Norton Simon in Pasadena. [The
"Rodin Foundery" in Paris has created dozens of posthumous
replicas of Rodin’s statues. That is why so many of Rodin’s statues
are exhibited in so many places in the world.]
Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo’s (1802–1885) death occurs in the movie.
Victor Hugo is considered by many to have been France’s greatest and
best-known 19th century poet and novelist. His two greatest
novels are Notre Dame de Paris (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) and Les
Misérables (1862). In 1870, after Napoleon III (Napoleon Bonaparte’s
nephew) was captured and defeated by the Prussians, Victor Hugo returned
to Paris from exile. He was elected to the national assembly and the
senate. His last years were marked by public veneration and acclaim, and
he was buried in the Panthéon.
Arthur Rimbaud
In the movie, Paul Claudel secretly reads poetry by Rimbaud. Why
secretly? Because Rimbaud’s poetry is that of a social outcast. He stopped
writing poetry at the age of 21 and died at the age of 37, but is
considered one of the greatest and most challenging Symbolist poets. He
exiled himself in Africa after having had a passionate relationship with
another Symbolist poet, Paul Verlaine.
Here are a few early lines by Arthur Rimbaud:
"As for settled happiness, domestic or not …
No, I can’t, I am too dissipated, too weak.
Work makes life blossom, an old idea, not mine.
My life doesn’t weigh enough, it drifts off and floats,
Far beyond action, that third pole of the world."