PARIS.- This superb bronze, by renowned woman sculptor Camille Claudel: The Age of Maturity, which vanished from public view after its inaugural showings at Galerie Eugène Blot in 1907 and 1908, has been sold for €3,663,000 (€ 3,100,000 hammer price) well above its estimate, by Matthieu Semont, auctioneer at the auction house Philocale in Orléans.
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This is the second-best result in the world for a work by Camille Claudel.
Matthieu Semont, found it hidden under a cloth while performing an inventory of an apartment that had been uninhabited for fifteen years, situated a stone’s throw from the Eiffel Tower.
Le Cabinet Lacroix-Jeannest, France’s leading experts in sculpture, who have located and sold more than twenty notable works by Camille Claudel, thoroughly researched the history and provenance of this outstanding example of twentieth-century sculpture. Developed by the artist between 1892 and 1898, during the aftermath of her breakup with Auguste Rodin, this work commemorates a significant turning point in her career and embodies the zenith of her art. It allegorizes human destiny, reuniting three stages of life—Youth, Maturity, and Old Age—within a single composition, representing the emotional tension between its three figures at its breaking point.
This bronze is the cast number “1” of The Age of Maturity made in 1907 by Eugène Blot and only three other bronzes representing The Age of Maturity are extant. These casts feature in the collections of the Musée d’Orsay, the Musée Rodin, and the Musée Camille Claudel in Nogent-sur-Seine.
"Million-dollar auctions for sculpture are rare, and this very strong bid is worthy of Camille Claudel's talent » commented the experts Alexandre Lacroix and Elodie Jeannest after the sale.
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