Modern couples: art, intimacy and the Avant-garde

The exhibition “Modern couples: art, intimacy and the Avant-garde” at Barbican Centre, explores the story of modern art through tumultuous affairs, scenes of jealousy, creative interaction and rivalry integral to the lives of many renowned artistic couples. Among the couples Auguste Rodin and Camille Claudel.

To the french sculptor , Greece had a significant impact on his work. As the director of the British Museum, Hartwig Fischer explains:

“Rodin, of course, is not alone in being inspired by the Parthenon sculptures, but few responded with his passion that was to last a lifetime”.

Interestingly, Rodin found inspiration in Greece indirectly. Rather than visiting Athens, he discovered Ancient Greek sculpture in the British Museum. During his visits to London, Rodin would visit their collection, and he was reported to have been most inspired by the sculptures from the Parthenon, which he often sketched. He first visited the museum in 1881 and continued to go regularly until just before his death in 1917.

One of  Rodin’s sculptures explore Ancient Greek inspiration more explicitly. His work ‘Pallas (Athena) with the Parthenon’ was based on an original sculpture he made of his friend’s wife, Mrs Russell. In this updated work, the woman is depicted as the goddess Athena with the Parthenon on top of her head. In doing so, Rodin harnesses the symbolism and mythology of ancient Greece and married it with his contemporary experience, thereby emphasizing his admiration and respect for his sitter as well as for the country that inspired him.

If you had to give the story between Auguste Rodin and Camille Claudel a title, it would probably be “Beauty and the Beast”. When they met he was already a famous sculptor, he was more than 40 years old, lame, short and also short-sighted. Camille, instead, was a beautiful 18-year-old girl who had arrived in Paris in the 1880s from northern France with a head full of dreams. She was the pupil, he was the master. Talented from youth, inspired by nature, and captivated by love, Camille Claudel unlocked the emotive power of sculpture after centuries of its subtleties having been obliterated by excessive polishing and focus on technique.

Eventually they became lovers, and the works they created seem to be the representation of their tumultuous love.