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Author Odile Ayral-Clause booklist (click here)

Book Review By Michelle M. Powers
Camille Claudel: A Life by Odile Ayral-Clause

Camille was born in December of 1864. During her lifetime she became one of the most well known female sculptors of the 19th century. Ayral-Clause gives a full picture of Camille's life starting with her creative childhood. Camille's intense relationship with Auguste Rodin is examined from its inception but does not take away from looking at Camille's life as a whole. Her ties with her family including her close connection with her brother Paul Claudel, her artwork and admirers, her financial strains, and her decline into mental instability that led to the last thirty years of her life in virtual seclusion in a mental asylum are brought together to paint a full picture of a remarkable artist and woman of the 19th century.

The book does have some repetition which takes away from its drama, and it could use more images of the artwork so often referred to.


Plot & Themes
job/profession:
Job/profession/poverty story Yes

Subject of Biography
Gender - Female
Profession/status:
Ethnicity - White
Nationality - French
Unusual characteristics:

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 3 ()
Europe Yes
European country: - France
Century: - 19th century

Writing Style
Book makes you feel? - encouraged
If this is a kid's book: - Age 16-Adult
Pictures/Illustrations? - A ton 16-20 B&W
How much of bio focuses on most famous period of life? - 76%-100% of book
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