Image:La valse.jpg

[edit] Summary

Camille Claudel, created this sculpture in 1889, but it evolved into this form by 1895 and was cast by Eugene Blot Foundry in 1905. This example is one of only 2 known Gilded versions and is the First cast.

The origin of La Valse can be traced back to as early as 1889, when Claudel wrote of her work on the subject in a letter to Florence Jeans. The genesis of this group has been described as follows: ``Without a doubt the most celebrated work by Camille Claudel, dating from the end of the happy time with Rodin, it is more than L’Abandon, her most erotic sculpture. In a first version gone today, the dancers were nude; l’Administration des Beaux-Arts was shocked by this audacity, and demanded that the sculptor clothe her characters.’’ (Reine-Marie Paris and Arnaud de la Chapelle, op. cit., 1991, p. 127)

In another version, today known as the first, the figures are enveloped by drapery which climbs up and around their heads. In a second version the drapery is modified, so that the figures are now nude from the waist up. Variations also ensued from this second series, in which the base on which the figures dance was modified and the placement of the man and woman’s heads vary. The present work incorporates several of Claudel’s modifications, as here the man’s lips rest tenderly against the woman’s cheek rather than against her neck as in other versions.

Furthermore, the drapery is more worked than in other versions, and serves as a support for the two bound in their delicate and passionate dance. From the days of its first exhibition, La Valse was lauded by the critics. It also should be noted that as well as receiving critical acclaim, this subject was also beloved by many of Claudel’s friends and fellow artists. Of the many works by Claudel representing musical themes, La Valse was a particular favorite of Claude Debussy, with whom Claudel was extremely close, although the nature of their relationship has never been substantiated. He kept La Valse on top of the mantlepiece of his studio.

It has been noted that La Valse comprises some of Claudel’s “most daring and personal works’’ and that with “these works, Camille Claudel displayed a completely autonomous genius and takes a place among the greatest artists of the turn of the century.’’ (Anne Rivière, Bruno Gaudichon and Danielle Ghanassia, op. cit., pp. 116-17)

[edit] Licensing

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• Camille Claudel