"Please, I must see Miss Lipscomb." " At this hour?" " It's urgent." "About my sister." "You'll wake the whole house!" "Miss Lipscomb!" "It's Mr Claudel." "She's vanished." "Where could she be?" " She told me nothing." " My mother's very upset." "Try the studio." "PARIS, FEBRUARY 1885" "Camille!" "You went digging for clay again?" "I've just been at your house." "Your mother..." "She nearly called the police this time." "And Paul was ready to look for you the world over." "Are you listening, Camille?" "Boucher was right, you've got mud on the brain." "You're a nightmare." "You never answer me, even when it's about you." "Only your work counts." "Do you think I was meant to be a sculptor?" "I'm such a dreamer!" "Boucher says that Rodin is a genius but that he seduces all the girls." "We'll have to watch out." " He's as scandalous as his work?" " All his models sleep with him." "If he faces the light, we'll see him better." "Toto is transparent." " Don't leave it there." " When I'm nervous, I need Toto." "He'll think we're mad." "He's here!" " Let him in." " Why me?" "Let him in!" "Hello, young ladies." "I know, I know." "Yes, I must tell you, I can't stay." "I'm in a rush." " Boucher said..." " Mr Boucher," "If I may say..." "Boucher... wins a prize, great!" "A year in Rome." "Who wouldn't want to be in Rome?" "But as for replacing him, that's a big step!" "No, you have to work the clay." "Don't rely on inspiration." "It doesn't exist." "What can I teach you, anyway?" "A sculpture takes time." "You have to let it rest, forget it, to better judge it." "I know." "I haven't finished it." "It's unfinished." "Also, the timing's bad." "I've taken on far too much work." "Have some tea, at least." "Boucher said you left the Academy." "Is that true?" "Yes, why?" "Shouldn't we have?" "No, no." "You've already solved the heating problem." "This is better." "Heating is very important." "My first studio was a stable." "Freezing cold." "A rich lady wanted a statue of herself." "I didn't have a cent, so I got some old shoes and tried to burn them for heat." "The lady arrived and posed, but the smell!" "She passed out from the smell." "The scare of my life!" "I thought she was dead." "What's this prehistoric beast?" "That's Toto." "A small African rhinoceros." "Didn't you know?" "Zero plus zero equals Toto." "It's been so pleasant, I forgot I'm in a hurry." "Monsieur Rodin, I'd like some marble." " Marble!" "Have you worked on stone?" " Granite." "In the country." "Rhinoceros, granite..." "You like challenges, Miss Claudel?" "Well... ..we'll all think it over, and we'll see about the lessons." "I'm not the only teacher in Paris." " Young ladies, goodbye." " Goodbye." "He's so handsome and strong!" "And bright!" " What do you think?" " Nothing." "What do you mean, nothing?" "We didn't ask him here to tell us stories." "That was just to get acquainted." "I can't afford it anyway." "That type says, "I know, you don't." "I see, you don't."" "You're getting carried away, Camille." "He never even mentioned our work!" "Didn't you notice?" "What a lout!" "Does that amuse you?" "Not me." "You can yawn for Papa on Sunday." "Until now your father went along with you." "But this time he won't." "The Academy was too disciplined." "You want your freedom." "Sharing a studio with a dizzy foreigner!" "You don't care what it costs!" "Classes, rent." "Papa's not home now because he's out earning that money, cent by cent, at the expense of all else." "Some life for a man his age!" "Seeing his family once a week!" "And what about me?" "When he hears that you sneak out to steal clay, keeping us up all night, making your brother risk failing school!" "All for your whims!" "For your so-called "vocation"!" "And you upset your brother, having him read filthy books unsuitable for his age." "Unsuitable for any age!" " Leave her alone." " That shameless brat!" "My first marble!" "He'll like it so much, he'll sign it." "Like Michelangelo with his pupils?" "I wouldn't have Hugo sign my poems." "You're an anarchist, Paul." "A young savage." "I can't bear school." "Thank you for giving me Rimbaud's poems." "Will I ever be able to run away like he did?" "I love your writing and I love you." "Only you believe in me." " My little Paul." " You look at me so sweetly." " Is that a sin?" " Sin doesn't exist." "MARBLE WAREHOUSE" "Limet!" "Give this young lady some marble." "One of the chunks from Eve." "Excuse me." "I'm being visited by the Ministry of Culture." "Send my regards to Jesse Lipsomb." "Send Louis with her." "Do you have tools for marble?" " Yes." " Good luck, then." "The Gates of Hell will be one of the century's most beautiful..." "But you're far from finished." "Are the Cathedrals finished?" "What do you usually work with?" " Green granite." " From Soissons?" "Yes." "Eve!" "Mr Rodin is spoiling you!" "This is pure Pitacci." "Smell it!" "This one will probably do nicely." "That one?" "No." "This one." "Paros, from Greece." "Be careful, it's fragile." " A hand, or a handout?" " Neither." "Why accept an official order for work you don't plan to do?" "We'll never stay on schedule this way." "My ideas don't come made to order." " What did she choose?" " The pyramid." " The little one?" " Yes, the Paros marble." "She doesn't know how hard it is to work with." "One wrong tap and it breaks in half." "She's too young to know." " She should take lessons." " I don't have the time." "And I've seen her work." "There were two heads." "An old woman and a tramp." "Merely sketches." "You know, when the clay is more alive than the model, like real flesh." "That's rare." "You're wrong about her." "She doesn't need lessons." "Boucher's wrong, too." "She'll learn by doing." ""With that horrible warning" ""as the steel touched my neck" ""my body shivered and a muffled cry escaped my lips." ""The executioner's hand trembled." ""'Sir', he said to me..." ""'Have I hurt you?" "'" ""These hangmen have soft hearts."" "You seem to love Victor Hugo, Giganti." "He's the greatest man alive." "He's all I have." "Now I have you, too." "Rodin could not have been indifferent." "The Dean of the School of Fine Arts thought you were already Rodin's pupil." "What have I done to deserve such a daughter!" "Always conniving to steal her father's money." "Don't you interfere." "That tramp!" "If my first baby hadn't died," "I'd never have given birth to her!" "She behaves like a boy!" "She hurts me, sets her father against me." "He'll make us all suffer for her filth." "Madame, get dressed, please." "It doesn't help to shut yourself away." "It's not me who should be shut away!" "Louise Athanaise!" "Come on out!" "Good morning, Monsieur Limet." " No luck?" " Thank Monsieur Rodin for me." "Jessie, read this!" "Read it out aloud!" ""Young ladies, I have found better than classes," ""I am beginning a major project and need apprentices." ""Tomorrow, 8:00 a.m., my studio." "Rodin."" "Watch your step!" " Morhardt!" " Hello." "Where's our friend?" "Bad timing." "Monsieur Rodin isn't here." "He's very busy these days." "Rodin goes too far." "Did you see those two young girls?" "On the Gates of Hell there'll be small statues of the damned." "Rodin has great ideas." "With a little help from Dante and his Divine Comedy." "He doesn't need help." "He's been commissioned." "The boss will accomplish what he wants." "He always does." " He's like a father to me." " You certainly love him." "Marcel, you needn't have written on the cloth!" "Miss Claudel did it." "Foolishness!" "Remove that scroll!" "Put the two Adams back together." "Move out of the way!" "Young lady," "stand between them again." "That's nice." "Very nice." "Make me another Adam for tomorrow." "Very nice." "Thank you, everyone." "How was Victor Hugo's first sitting?" "I love him." "I'd like to sculpt him nude." "Like the God that he is!" " Hey, girls!" "Got a man?" " They're not telling." " Stuck-up!" " She's a proper young lady." "She's cultured, she's saving it." "Tell me, when do we see Rodin work?" "He's busy thinking." "He'd better watch out!" "Women are less important than official orders." "An artist is an artist." "The truth is, he has no ideas." "You know that Rodin is busy arguing with the Minister." "You know that he's the biggest lecher since Victor Hugo." "I'm sure it will be beautiful, Giganti." "You'll be almost crouching, with your head down, leaning on your left knee." "And your arms, your arms will hang down, hugging one leg." "I'm sure it will be very powerful." "Powerful." "And tender." "Just like you." " Taking a break?" " It has to dry." " Want company?" " All the screens are taken." "You wouldn't know what to do." "Come on, honey!" "Show me what you've got!" " Get off!" " You're asking for it!" "I'll get you." "Girls don't play coy for long, here." "You can play without me." " Leave her alone." " You!" "You'd better stick to plastering!" "Don't you get it?" "You're like plaster." " Dull and sticky!" " Where are you going?" "Back to my real work!" "Forget it." "You don't stand a chance!" "What's wrong?" "Problems?" "I've just passed an angry young girl..." "Wait for me in the office." "Return to your pose, Adele." "He doesn't like my marble foot." " He'll never sign it." " Listen to this." ""A miracle is based on three conditions " ""The credulity of all, the good will of some." ""And the tacit consent of the principal creator."" "He should have understood." "You take everything too much to heart." "Did you ask him?" "He never speaks to me." ""He who is a legend in his own time, is ruled by that legend." ""lt may begin in absolute innocence." ""But, to cover up flaws and" ""maintain the myth of Divine Power," ""one has to employ desperate measures."" " We'll hire someone else?" " No!" "Still no word from her?" "No." "This is unacceptable." "Why did you leave?" "Such outrageous behaviour!" "Are you always so impulsive?" "I have no time." "I didn't hire you as a joke." "I need people on the job, day and night." "There's work to be done!" "Where did you find that kind of clay?" "Under my feet." "In Paris, Monsieur." "You've got the head and neck but you've neglected the body." "The human body is a world that moves." "It's life!" "Never think in surfaces, think in depths." " If you want to copy my Adam, look..." " No, I wasn't." "Where's your model?" "Not a pro, I hope." "They're too soft, flabby." "Come and look." "Stand here, look." "You must search in the neck." "You must force the muscles." "Here." "Here." "You never see me work, so you think I do nothing." "Careful, you'll hurt him!" "There you are." "You spare your model." "You're bold enough to sculpt a nude man." "But you make him comfortable, and you hide his body." "I'll show you where I work in secret." "You grant that I'm bold, at least." "You're intelligent and you work from the heart." "But you go about it the wrong way." "Do you want me to teach you?" "No." "I don't need lessons or advice." "I work directly with live subjects." "I accept, Miss Claudel." "Am I fired?" "She's a pupil." "Oh, another pupil." "That's a shame!" "Because I froze yesterday." "What are we trying?" "I hope today you have an idea, at least." "The longer you think, the colder I get." "One can only see the profiles in shadow." "That profile is no good." "See?" " Won't you go in?" " No." "I'll go see Jessie first." "No, not tonight." "I'll see her tomorrow." "You already know things that took me years." "And, what I saw in Italy." "Michelangelo's unfinished slaves, lost, abandoned in a dark corner." "The chance of what's left unfinished." "It's a complete emotion before pure genius." "Like the other day when I saw you." "All white, standing between my two Adams, you gave me the idea for a third one." "I thought inspiration didn't exist." " Sorry?" " I thought inspiration didn't exist." "I'm so happy." "I'm so happy, Camille." "I'll take you wherever you want." "Anywhere." " To the studio." " Your studio?" "Yes..." "No." "Giganti will be asleep." "I'll go in." " Shall we go to Italy?" " I'm going in." " Afraid of being scolded?" " No." "Honest?" "I'm no longer a child." "And my mother doesn't speak to me." "Why not?" "She doesn't like sculpture." ""All that filth..."" "Mine always said, "Get rid of them!" "They're everywhere!" ""Even under the bed!" "Your mess!"" "You see, I'm twice your age, but we'll have the same memories." "Good night." "I never meant to copy your Adam." "My Giganti hides his body because he's hurt." "Your coat!" "At least you know what moves you." "I no longer know." "Look, Paul." "He signed!" "Have you heard?" "Victor Hugo is dead." "Is that her?" "You were right." "She has eyes you read about." "Deep blue, Schwob." "Victor Hugo is dead!" "Victor Hugo is dead!" "Victor Hugo is dead!" "All of France weeps for Hugo, and you cry over nonsense!" "I want to go with you!" "But it's a funeral!" "I'm saving you the trip." "I want to see the procession." "There isn't one." "Yes, there is!" "I read about it." "Now, Rose." "The truth is, you're ashamed of me." " You'll be happier on your balcony." " Oh, leave me alone!" "Have you seen Giganti?" "What heat!" "Oh, such heat!" "Can't you play something else, dear?" "She said, "You're ashamed of me!"" "And you know what he said?" ""Rose, you'll be happier on your balcony."" "And old Rose was dressed in pink, from head to toe!" " Who is this Rose?" " Louis says it's ancient history." " Is she his wife?" " One of many, but they're not married." " You're sure?" " Positive." "Her name is Rose Beuret." "It's hot, isn't it?" " Are you sure?" " Yes." " Sure?" " Yes!" "Get dressed." "That funeral wore me out." "Poor Victor Hugo." "Here." "Come back tomorrow, it's too hot today." "Goodbye, sir." "Another macabre shindig that turns into crap." "All the simpering and fake grief." "His corpse comes in handy." "You're a fine sight in those dark panes!" "The country will do us all good." "She thinks she doesn't need the rest." "She's sulking." "Walk around!" "You'll step on your sisters' skirts!" "I've invited Monsieur Rodin to Villeneuve." "It's time we thanked him." "But, Papa, he's too busy." "He can't come." "I wrote to him." "We'll see." "Tell the priest I still want to tear down his church." "Louis Prosper!" "Stop tormenting that poor priest." "Enjoy yourselves!" "See you on Sunday." "Monsieur Rodin." "Don't come, I beg you." "Don't come to Villeneuve." "Look at the curves of the steeple." "Delighted to meet you." " We wanted to thank you." " We feel honoured." "How was your trip?" "Camille!" "Our guests are here." "We used to live here all year but my husband works in Rambouillet now." "And then, Camille dragged us to Paris." "Here's Camille." " Rose, this is Miss Claudel." " I know." "May I present my brother, Paul." "Delighted." "Sensual pleasures are everywhere." "The colour of the foliage." "The quality of the sky." " Stop!" "Rose will catch on." " I don't care." "The silence!" "If only we had lettuce like this in Paris!" "You flatter my wife, it's her garden." "I grow tomatoes on my balcony." "It's very practical!" "Rose is full of good ideas." "I don't want to see them." "You should have stopped him." "And he brought her!" "I'll never forgive you." " Would you like to wash your hands?" " Yes, please!" "Follow me." "Wear down the clay." "Aren't you glad to see me?" "Why did you come?" "It's horrid." "I'm ashamed." "It's a good way to keep time." "To be precise, Madame, this poor priest keeps us informed" "of all his pitiful activities." "Are you a practising Catholic?" "I do as Monsieur Rodin does." "And what does Monsieur Rodin do?" "This may surprise you, but I almost became a monk." "I was young." "My older sister," "Maria, whom I adored." "She became a nun after a promise of marriage fell through." "She died of grief." "After her death I entered the monastery." "To keep her alive I led her life." "To my surprise, my Confessor asked me to do his portrait." "By making me sculpt, he brought me back to life." "To my life, I mean." "It's a miracle that he recognised the difference between grief and a vocation." "No doubt." "I think I'd do the same thing." "You?" "You'd become a nun?" "I'd stop sculpting." "What arrogance!" "From whom do you get it?" "Camille is not arrogant." "She just won't settle for less than she thinks she deserves." "If she's wild, it's only because she's passionate." "As a child, she used to make human skeletons out of clay." "Then she'd bake them in the oven." "She'd forget to eat and drink." "It was astounding." "If she has her moods, it's because she's uncompromising." "Monsieur Rodin must have realised this." "Isn't that so, Monsieur Rodin?" "Ah, temperament!" "Where do we get our temperament?" "We don't know what it is, but we know what it does!" "The Gates of Hell is three years behind because of these clowns." "Look." "Look." "I still need the feet and the hands." "You see?" "And do you know the Burghers of Calais?" "Can anyone tell me what happened there?" "I'm still struggling with Victor Hugo." "He let me do his bust, or rather he sulked." "I had to run to my turntable before I forgot everything!" "And Balzac." "Have I caught him or not?" "How can one capture a man's mind in his face?" "It's not them, it's me who is the problem." "So, if I don't want to be hounded by bureaucrats." "I must have help." "I can't work alone." "And Jessie Lipscomb is leaving us for England." "I need qualified artists." "Talented ones!" "And fast!" "No time to lose." "There you are." "Which brings me to the main reason for my visit here." "I want Camille in Paris!" "Oh, yes." "That's the end of her holiday!" "Madame Rodin, coffee is served." "I feel you're abandoning me." " You're abandoning me!" " Rodin didn't come to say goodbye." "Give his secrets to the English." "I won't give them." "I'll sell them!" "They're here!" "Welcome." "Marvellous, isn't it?" "Pure 18th century." "Change the locks." " It sure stinks." " Industry, Louis, industry." "I thought the Neubourg Folly was a madhouse." " Did you check thoroughly?" " Yes." "Nobody's living here." "The country." "Right here in Paris." "Do you like our new studio, Miss Claudel?" "I'm the happiest woman alive." "I love you." "I love you." "TO LET" "Look how beautiful you are." "Look." "Stay with me tonight." "No." "I don't want to upset my family." "Louis Prosper, come inside now." "You'll catch cold." "When I think Camille doesn't even bother to come home on Sunday." "Your one day at home." "Are you listening to me?" "She's a bad example for Paul." "I couldn't find Giganti!" "You'll forget him." "He'd have been a good Burgher of Calais." "To work!" "Did you love her?" "I know you loved her." "You never dared tell her." "I'll tell you a secret, Giganti." "Without her, I don't know..." "She's my only source of inspiration." "What does she have that I don't?" "MINOR EXHIBITIONS" "It's too dark, I can't see anything." "I can see you perfectly well." " It's completely different." " What's the difference?" "What's all this get-up for then?" "Unbelievable." "Ridiculous set-up." "Is Miss Claudel making a fuss?" "Photographers!" "You think you're artists, but you create nothing!" "Look at her!" "Look at her." "Night and day she works, from the clay to the stone." "She's the best I've had, but she doesn't have cat's eyes!" "That's enough." "He's right." "It's far too dark." " Good evening, sir." " But I need it" " for that American newspaper." " It's all work with you." " No!" "Come on, Camille!" " Good evening, sir!" "Just look at them!" "Scandalous!" " I'm going." " No." "What will I do without you?" "Poor boy, drowning in filthy water, too disgusted to call for help, he lets himself die." "I want to go far away, leave Paris, leave the family, leave everything around me before I go under." "Rodin will surely help you." "You'll join the foreign service." "At least now you remember I exist." "What's this?" "Your sister and her fiance are here!" "Tell Rodin you'd prefer China or America." "Your fiancee is a fine pianist, Mr Massary." "Please excuse us for a moment, Mr Massary." "What are you lovebirds doing?" "Come, have your picture taken." "Rodin was going to give you a raise." "Did he?" "He has promised me, Papa." "Does he pay you regularly?" "Yes." "The Burghers of Calais are nearly done." "And what's your part in all that?" "Since you met Rodin, you've done no work of your own." "That's not true." "He's more concerned about my future than I am." "This is December." "If you haven't begun, you'll miss the Salon." "You've exhibited nothing yet this year." "I've learned to work faster from him." "My daughter didn't need to meet Rodin in order to be someone!" "Don't ever forget, that we are the Claudels, and that we are different!" "You've always worked faster and better than the rest." "Don't forget what Boucher said, you have to exhibit to make your name." "There's no other way." "I know, Papa." "Look at me, darling." "Look up." "Your future belongs to you." "Also..." "Don't be seen too much with Monsieur Rodin." "People might gossip." "Sorry I'm late." "You can see your sister later." "She's here for good." "Please..." "Lunch is ready." "This lunch meant so much to Camille." "What a cook Rose is!" "Winter will be rough." "Whenever I'm still hungry I eat the bread." "Thanks, I'm fine." "Let's write to my friend in Foreign Affairs together." "This way." "Madame, I have good news." "You're pregnant." "I know you'll overeat again." "I despise these people and their damned dinners." "How can you pander to people who don't even understand your work?" " Let the Mayor of Calais come here." " It's the whole town council of Calais!" "I hate these parties!" "This isn't the life for me." "Go, see your Minister alone." "I'm glad I won't be seeing you!" "Marry me." ""Dear Rodin," ""I can't come to Calais." "I have no hat or shoes." ""My boots are all worn out, and I have no suitable clothes." ""So, excuse me," ""and don't think it bad faith." ""I began a portrait of you." ""From the clay, I'll make a plaster mould." ""When the mould is set, I'll just have to break it" ""for you to appear." ""Camille." ""I sleep naked so it feels like you're here," ""But when I wake up, it's just not the same." ""Don't be unfaithful to me."" "You'll never get him!" "He's mine!" "Where would you be without your hands?" "Next time, I'll kill you." "Traitor, crook, turncoat, drunkard, vampire, scoundrel, vermin, knave, swine, festering ordure, scum, skinflint, Judas, cretin, anarchist, blackmailer, felon, fathead, slob, fruitcake, intellectual," "opportunist, conspirator, idiot, imbecile, yid, slobberer, Calvinist, debaucherer, pallid." "Stop it, Camille." " You have a fever - emasculated, senator," " Go and lie down." " Robin." "That's enough!" "Rascal," "Holy Joe, Zola, bin, fish," " I'll come tomorrow." " hydrocephalic, garbage," " Good evening." "Freemason, communard, odd ball." "Papa, it's for you." " Camille has disappeared." " What?" "She left everything behind." "What is it now?" "You've just got back from Calais." " Nobody's seen her in three days." " I can't do anything tonight." "Tomorrow..." "Let him in, if he wants to talk to you!" "Leave me in peace!" "Go to the studio." "Get the others." "Run!" "Striking, isn't it?" "Alchemy." "Magic." "I've never seen a self-portrait like it." " So lifelike." " Unforgiving." "You must look, gentlemen." "An artist believes his own eyes." "Many pupils have done my bust." "This one is the most beautiful." "I'll exhibit it everywhere." "Imagine!" "From memory!" "She did it from memory!" "She did it while you were away?" "Miss Claudel has become a master." "She has the talent of a man." "She's a sorceress." "It's wonderful." "A premonition." "That's how I'll look in ten years." "It's wonderful." "Has something happened?" "Something's wrong." "Where were you, my love?" "Choose, Rodin." "Your wife, or me." "Rose is not my wife." "What's wrong with you?" "Jealous of a past affair?" "It's not like you and me." "You and I are in a league of our own." "We're the same breed." "You're dreaming, Rodin." "Do you think this is a fairy tale?" "We're two ghosts in a wasteland." "What are you talking about?" "What I want with you is peace, escape, work." "Will you leave her?" "If only I could, Camille." "If only I could." "Leave her, I beg you." "Leave her." "I'm the one you love." "Tell me I'm the one you love." "You love me!" "Do you?" "Do you love me?" "Don't let the worst happen to us." "Please." "There are different ways of loving." "What do you want me to do?" "Fire her, like a maid?" "I'll speak to her." "Give me time." "Give me time to prepare her." "I'm all she has." "Is it her that you love?" "Is it her?" "Rose is ill, do you hear?" "She's ill!" "I thought you were different." "I'm leaving you." "Tomorrow I'll send for my things and my pay." " You tyrant!" " I worked hard for you." "Now I'll work for myself." "All right, let's go." "You move in and go through my things." "Do you believe in God?" "If you think I like being with Catholics." "Did you convert?" "Have you lost your mind?" "No." "I found faith." "Why did you hide it all this time?" "If you think I haven't been worrying what Papa would say!" ""Another of my son's whims!"" "I was in agony." "You would all have laughed." "Remember, the whole family obeyed you when you said we should stop attending mass." "That's not your only reason for not telling us." "There's something else!" "I want to write." "I want to be successful." "It won't be easy to be everything to be a Catholic, a poet and soon a diplomat, too." "You can laugh all you like!" "But the man with no faith will never be a great artist." "God exists." "He saved me from despair." "I need Him to be who I am." "Well, I won't need help to be who I am." "I've prayed for you with all I had this whole year." "I had an abortion, Paul." "An abortion." "My poor Camille." "Are you going to leave him?" "Let me stay here a while." "I won't bother you." "I'll sleep on a sofa." "I don't want to go back home." "I promise." "I won't see him any more, Paul!" "I won't see him any more." "Hail Mary, full of Grace Blessed art Thou among women." "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners..." "I've found a place around here for you." "That's good!" "You think of me then." "You think of everything." "Do you know the opposite of converted?" "Diverted!" "Goodbye." "You could buy yourself a mirror." "No, no." "After the height of intensity on everything, the voice dies on alas." "And the piano brings us down to the close." "Let's start again." "Is that her body?" "I hear the Claudel girl makes the hands and feet of his statues." "Love has given the old man wings." "A card, sir." "CAMILLE CLAUDEL SCULPTOR" "The most beautiful girl in Paris in the most beautiful courtyard." "You have a rich imagination and a steady hand." "I must go." "Thank you." " Eugene Blot." " Claudel" " Schwob." " Debussy." "Well?" "Well..." "Well, nothing but naked rumps." " I kissed Sakountala!" " We all wanted to kiss her." "But I did it!" "Naked rump pointing toward Heaven, noses in the sand." "I know you heard nothing but horrible things." "Kiss me." "No comment." "Let's be clear" " I do the business, you do the sculpting." "I'm sure I can sell both of these in bronze." "I'll make the sales, take my percentage and we're even." "Of course, you get the first bronzes." "Take this advance." "You need it." "Thank you." "Thank you, Monsieur Blot." "Camille." "Camille." "There might be an official commission for you." "Do you hear?" "Camille." "At least go and see Morhardt." "Camille." "Forgive me." "Open the door!" "Camille!" "Bundle up, Paul." "It's very cold in America." "And watch out in the streets." "They have gangsters." "Savages... cowboys..." "Good luck, Paul." "God bless you." "God keep you." "Assert yourself!" "I'll miss you." "I'll try to do well, too." "You'll be proud of me." "Write to me." "We'll be like we used to be." "Like before!" "Your brother's been sent to New York." "We have decided to give you your dowry." "You've dipped into it considerably." "But, still..." "At last we're leaving Paris after those years of hard work that poisoned our tranquillity." "If you really need to, come with us to Villeneuve." "There's no shame." "Many unmarried girls do it." "My newspaper would love an interview with her." "The modern woman in her own words." "Do you think she'd agree?" "She's a considerable sculptor and..." "Is she really working on her own now?" "I showed her where to find gold, but the gold she finds is hers." "I'm not very cheerful." "I've become a stranger to myself." "There's always something missing." "Your voice has changed the most." "Nothing that's monstrous is foreign to me." "You, at least, are used to it." "All your intrigues..." "You can't deny it." "You can be so nasty at times." "I find that you're not well." "Your Balzac is a noble idea, Auguste Rodin." "That's not the general opinion." "That statue has made me the laughing stock of Paris." "My Balzac!" "I'll end up putting it in my garden!" "Stay with me." "I want to make love to you." "Your little musician, Debussy isn't it?" "Was he good at making love?" "Be quiet." "Anyway, I hate music." "Why don't you touch me?" "No." "Let me discover your work, will you?" "Why?" "Are you afraid I've surpassed you?" "No, no." "Copied me, perhaps." "Calm down and be kind." "They say you're not well" "But when I see the amount of work!" "Won't you look?" "No, I'd rather feel it first." "With your courage, your colossal willpower..." "You make me want to scream." "I feel like I've brought home a bailiff." "You can't." "No." "You can't." "I told you the trouble I've had over Balzac." "If you complete this one, there'll be more scandal." "How can you reduce what we shared to that image?" "You show me as a spineless puppet torn apart by two women." "That's a vile caricature!" "What do you want?" "I want you to do what I tell you to do!" "Exactly!" " You know very well." " Not do what I'm doing?" "I've earned the right to do my own work." "If it means ridiculing me, destroying me then you must give it up, you must give up." "Submit all your ideas to me." "You don't compare to me!" " What?" " At all!" "You're a third-rate sculptor." "Then why attack me so violently?" "Everything comes from me, nothing from you." "You struggle too much for your work." "It speaks for itself." "Why are you jealous?" " Jealous?" " Yes." "Jealous, me?" "I make sculptures of life, not death!" "You despise life." "You search for pain." "You get drunk on pain." "And you create pain." "You portray yourself as a victim." "A martyr." "But you're the one who left me." "It was impossible to live with you!" "Listen, Camille." "The work we did together was good." "I always treated you as an equal." "All the work I did for you was good!" ""Miss Claudel, Rodin's pupil!" "She picks up Rodin's scraps" ""and crams them into her sculptures!"" "You allowed them to say it!" "Oh, God!" "You're my worst enemy." "I've just realised." "You stole it all!" "My youth, my work!" "Everything!" "I've ruined your life?" "I wish I'd never met you!" "I'd rather be in an asylum!" " That's where you'd like to put me!" " Completely crazy." "You're completely drunk!" "Completely drunk." "You've started drinking." "Everyone says so." "If I didn't drink they'd all know you put me in this state." "So let them think I'm in this state because I drink!" "Camille, I'm a well-known professional sculptor." "I'm backing you." " I know the fools are against you." " What do you mean, professional?" "Do you mean running three studios at once, to pile up orders?" "Socialising instead of putting your hand in clay?" "Driving on your workers, while you add the finishing touches!" "As an artist, I refuse your system!" "Stop this gossip!" "Slander!" "Stop confusing everything!" "Confusing!" "You're confused!" "Supporting political hacks so they'll defend your work!" "I'm neither for nor against Dreyfus!" "If only you believed in either side." "When I heard you were pro-Dreyfus, just for your personal gains for your Balzac, so you could finally exhibit, then I turned against Dreyfus!" "That's enough!" "Stop." "It's ridiculous!" "Such a waste!" "When I met you, you were, for me, the most desirable woman in the world." "You, who are a sculptor!" "You caressed my naked stomach and didn't even realise it had changed." "Had I known you were pregnant I'd have married you." "For years you didn't want..." "You never wanted to choose." "You never decided anything." "I never loved anyone but you." "I couldn't share you." "It was a struggle for me." "What should I tell you?" "You made a mistake, that's all." "It's finished." "I don't want any more complicated emotions." "The tyranny of feelings." "I can't any more." "On your deathbed you'll still hesitate!" "Why?" " There's nothing left." " Yes, but..." "What will you do?" "I need the money." " Are you mad?" " You'll never get it inside." "What about the landlord?" "What about him?" "It's only wood." "Thank you, Robert." "Goodbye." "You're wrong to think it's about you." "You're a sculptor, Rodin, not a sculpture." "You ought to know." "I am that old woman with nothing but time on her bones." "And the young girl who's lost her youth, that's also me." "And the man is me, too." "Not you." "I gave him my toughness." "He gave me his emptiness in return." "There you are, three times me." "The Holy Trinity, trinity of emptiness." "How did you know there were people inside the big white rock?" "You have a stomach ache?" "My father's a doctor." "Someone's poisoning my food." "The poison..." "The poison is coursing." "The poison is coursing through my body." "My back is cold." "I'm the cabbage, being eaten by caterpillars." "As soon as I sprout a leaf, they eat it." "You were saying that your feeling of loneliness is such that you sometimes fear you'll forget how to speak, and so you speak loudly to reassure yourself." "Shouting is pointless." "Better to be sly." "And definitely not mention any names." "They could all turn up." "They'd all come to threaten me." "Who?" "You know who." "You lied!" "Why did you lie?" "You said you wanted my three figures for the Universal Exhibition!" "I swear, it was never a question of the Exhibition of 1900." "Listen, Miss Claudel," "I was the first one who wrote about you, defended you." "I need recognition, not defending!" "But you have recognition!" "The Age of Maturity commission is official." "But not for the Exposition of 1900." "Rodin!" "It's a scheme of Rodin's." "I know it!" "Whenever he can, Rodin helps you." "He respects you deeply as an artist." "He wishes you every success." "Believe me, I'm in no mood to be held back by Rodin's gang." "He brags about his influence." "And he abuses me." "He prints my portrait on postcards, against my wishes!" "And he exhibits the bust I made of him any how, any way, without my consent!" "His bust!" "His bust!" "It's all he cares about." " And the erotic sketches!" " You've gone too far." "Rodin isn't your enemy." "You must calm down." "You've bombarded us for far too long with your letters and demands." "Who do you think you are?" "Don't you know who I am?" "Or are you pretending?" "What kind of behaviour is this?" "You're mad!" "I'm Camille Claudel!" "And if you don't know it, I'll show you!" "Doctor Michaux!" "That's enough!" "Let go of her!" "This is outrageous!" "I'm Doctor Michaux." "What is this?" "A search warrant, sir." "We're reclaiming state property." "It's the work of Rodin's gang." "The State paid for your work." "Monsieur Morhardt gave you the cheque." "I burned the cheque." "Nobody can stop me making another one." "Nobody can stop me making another one!" "Capitalist!" "It's your demon, Camille, again!" "Exploiter of the poor!" "You have to come out of your house now." "You hear?" "You'll have to walk through garbage to get out." "You hear me?" "It's time we moved." " My daughter!" " Papa!" "It's not possible." "Your eyes are dark blue, my child." "You look terrible." "Louise couldn't reach you." "Your brother also tried to see you" " during his last visit." " He was in Paris?" " Is that in America?" " Fou Tcheou." "He travels a great deal." "He's a vice consul." "It's beautiful." "I wanted so much to go to China with him." "He'll be well-known." "He's a great poet." "I neglected him for too long." "I know, Papa." "I always took up too much space." "Have I disappointed you?" "Yes." "But I'll always love you." ""I wanted not to weep" ""and to get up to walk," ""but man only goes forward, until he has to stop." ""And his bones well up in his eyes, out of that sea" ""which, in all chests, rises to the same level." ""Where did I go wrong?" "Where is my fault?" ""lf they cut off my hands and my feet" ""I'll offer you the stumps." ""I'll come towards you." "On my bones," ""towards you"" "I'm so ashamed." "I'm so ashamed." "Paul has found God." "He gets on with that." "He gets on well." "And you, what will you find, when I'm gone?" "Am I of stone?" "It seems to me the leaves of the trees are of canvas or steel," "And the air is but a backdrop we observe or overlook." "And the sun, whose first rays as though touching me, set me resonating like a stone striking bronze, let it rise." "It can mean no more to me than a cow's lung hanging in a butcher's doorway!" "Why live?" " I don't care whether I live or die." " Mama?" "Mama!" "This pains me!" "Today." "Today I must reveal who I am." "Alone!" "All of them!" "I will march forth and strike the very jaws of brutality with an armed fist!" "I will speak before this assembly of filthy cowards." "Either I die or I build my own empire!" "Hola!" "Hola!" "Hola!" "Hola!" "My dear Paul," "I have a lot of new ideas that you would love." "Three figures listening to another, behind a screen." "A young girl on a bench, crying." "Her parents watch, stunned." "I still get great pleasure from working." "In next year's salon, if I finish it on time, you'll see the group of three, all spread out." "And I've another group in mind, that you'll love." "You'll see it's nothing like Rodin's work." "And it's dressed!" "You never tell me what you're writing." "Any new books?" "Several friends told me to buy Tete d'Or." "It's been terribly cold lately." "I keep a fire going all night." "If you can spare any money for heat, it would help." "Thank you for the onyx." "I hear the crash of green water." "Hurry and come see all this." "I hold you close." "Camille." "You're the only one to whom I've confided all this." "Don't show this to anyone." "I'm here on behalf of Eugene Blot!" "Did Rodin send you?" "Oh, I know." "You're his mistress." "I've seen you with him." "No!" "He's a friend of my father's." "My name is Judith Cladel." "I'm a journalist writing Rodin's biography." "Claudel, Cladel, indeed!" "Look, my newspaper would love an interview." "You can speak to the cats." "Rodin says that he showed you where to find gold, but the gold that you found is yours." "Rodin." "In a beautiful article he wrote about you," "Mr Morhardt said your work is unparalleled." "What do you think of this honour?" "That's lovely." "That's lovely." "These millionaires picking on a defenceless artist." "Who wrote that?" "A Woman Exploited by Camille Claudel." "You seem to resent Rodin and Morhardt." "However, they have been friends to you." "Listen." "I promise you, there'll be nothing nasty." "Here's what you can write in your article." "You have all made false promises." "For me, zero plus zero equals zero!" "Perhaps Rodin thinks I'm dead." " Well, my need for money is not!" " You're sacrificing everything for your art!" "My onyxes, the two green stones there." "I polished them myself!" "And let me tell you, onyx is not an easy stone." "I'm here to help you, you know." "This article could really help you!" "Can you pay for my models?" "My tools, my marble?" "My coal?" "My statues benefit everyone except me." "You can leave, if you're not here to give me your money." "I need to vent my anger on the first person who comes to my door." "So it's your hard luck." "Maybe I'm wrong, I hope I am." "If you are not in with Rodin," "I offer my apologies." "But if you ever come to do his business, my studio will be permanently closed." "Nothing more to say." "All the best." "Give my regards to Rodin!" " Goodbye, Judith." " Goodbye, sir." "She's in!" "Knock!" "Before she gets herself thrown out!" "All the lodgers are complaining." "I don't have the strength." "Here's the rent." "Tell her her brother will be back for the summer." "Are you drunk?" "Enough, Camille." "Enough!" "My God, you've changed!" "Haven't you seen the river rising?" "The area has been evacuated." "He wants to drown me now." "The way you carry on!" "You refused a commission for ten busts of Rodin!" "You're officially invited to Prague with him, and you don't go!" "Have some courage, damn it!" "Your behaviour is irresponsible." "You hear?" "Irresponsible!" "To complete the picture, you have nothing better to do than mail cat shit to the Minister of Culture and accuse Rodin of stealing the Mona Lisa." "Bravo." "Very funny." "Stop these morbid pranks." "Go out!" "Be seen!" "React intelligently, instead of burying yourself alive." "This is suicide, Camille." "I'm afraid." "I'm afraid of being robbed!" "I'm afraid!" "I'm afraid!" "Everyone is afraid one time or another." "But with me it's all the time." "There are people who are bothered by me, who don't forgive me for being so gifted." "No, listen, Camille." "We haven't met for a long time." "What new treasures!" "Look." "This little piece." "It's monumental!" "You mean The Chatterboxes?" "You call it that?" "Or The Gossips." "Sakountala" "in marble." "And that little girl." "Look, I'll give you six months to create a new piece for me, large-scale." "I'll arrange an exhibition, a one-man show of your work." "They'll see how sublime you are." "You look like Cinderella." "I like Cinderella." "It's like the lower depths here." "I'll arrange it all." "First, the cats." "Don't move." "I'll be back." "I'll carry you to the boat." "Even before she knows how to see, a child reaches out with her tiny hands." "The almost maternal joy of shaping modelling clay in her hands, the art of modelling, of possessing durable armies with her hands, these rounded forms, exquisite living bodies, that populate her life." "This was her first desire, after tiring of her first doll." "Camille Claudel is the first to sculpt the soul." "Critics have often compared her art to that of another, whose name I detest." "In fact, they could not be more different." "The art of that sculptor is the heaviest there is." "Some of his figures don't even manage to free themselves from the clay in which they are petrified." "When they aren't crawling, hugging the mud in a kind of erotic furore, then each, clasping another body, seeks to recreate the primitive mass." "Impenetrable, they repel the light like a thick wall." "She's frightening!" "How embarrassing for her brother." "You're a wonderful poet, Monsieur Claudel." "She'll never have commissions from high society." "You've seen The Gossips?" "It's so small it fits in your hand, like a secret." "Eugene Blot, thank you!" "Thank you!" "It's a triumph!" "Of course she's eccentric." "From Camille." "She made that dress especially, I couldn't stop her." "A circus!" "Nothing ever comes out of a whirlwind except rubbish." "At least Camille's work isn't at all like Rodin's sleazy pawing." "Getting over Rodin has been hard on her, you know." "She staked everything on Rodin, and she lost everything." "My sister." "My sister is a living mystery." "There's only one way to approach a mystery." "Gently." "I'm leaving, Blot!" "Without saying goodbye to her?" "The reviews were mostly good." "They only panned your Perseus." "They found it too disturbing." "Some felt you portrayed yourself as having a severed head." "They've no right to criticise my statue." "You've struggled alone." "You're the most authentic sculptor I know." "Just disregard the salon clique." "I sold nothing but I will." "I'm not discouraged." "Your work can't help but touch the collectors in the end, because it tears my heart out." "They scoff at you because they can't destroy you." "Genius always terrifies people." "I should have bought dresses, hats, instead of indulging my passion for dubious edifices." "Your art is so great, nobody understands it any more." "I love you, Blot." "Send me the marble pieces." "No just send me the plaster ones." "Keep the marble pieces and the bronzes, too." "You go, Robert, talk to her." "It's Robert!" "Open up!" "You in there!" "Shameful, using a child." "Robert, where's your dad?" "All they do is sleep!" "I am a sculptor, sir!" "I get my ideas at night." "That's it!" "Goodbye, Robert." "3 MARCH, 1913" "When I think of how he suffered when he learned the truth about her and Rodin!" "Such arrogance!" "Living with him like a kept woman!" "I don't even dare say what I think!" "She abused us!" "Still, I can't abandon my daughter." "Something must be done quickly." "I, the undersigned, doctor of medicine, certify that Camille Claudel suffers from severe mental problems." "She wears rags and certainly never washes herself," "She has sold almost all her furniture, although she receives from her family, who also pay for her rent," "200 francs per month with which she could live comfortably." "She lives in isolation, in a locked room, without air, having sealed the windows." "She hasn't been out for several months." "She has amounted to nothing." "I have amounted to something." "She hasn't." "Evidently she is still terrified of Rodin's gang." "All the gifts nature gave her brought only unhappiness." "It's a total catastrophe." "My sister is swallowed up." "And the danger to her neighbours necessitates her confinement to a mental hospital." "10 MARCH, 1913" "All these ordeals in one week." "The death of my husband, my daughter." "It's horrible." "When she's better, you can take her home." "VILLE EVRARD ASYLUM" "My little Paul," "You came to see me in May, and I made you promise to look after me, and not to neglect me so terribly." "Madhouses are made to inflict suffering." "It can't be helped, especially if you never see anyone." "They try to force me to sculpt here." "They don't succeed, so they make trouble for me." "Don't forget, Paul, your sister is in prison, with madwomen." "Mama wrote the doctor that I mean to harm you." "That I detest you and am out to hurt you." "It's not true." "I wish she would take me to Villeneuve with her." "Do you think I enjoy spending months, years like this, without any news, or hope?" "Where does such ferocity come from?" "How did they manage to change you so?" "I'd really like to know." "You might as well send me to Siberia." "Did you take care of my things?" "Are they in Villeneuve?" "Be careful they don't fall into Rodin's hands." "He's so afraid I might come back." "That's why he's keeping me here, isn't it, Paul?" "I would so like to go home and close the door tightly." "I don't know if I'll be able to realise this dream to be home." "Oh, God, I wish I were in Villeneuve." "Your sister in exile." "Due to the outbreak of war, Camille Claudel was transferred to the asylum at Montdevergues on 9 September, 1914." "She died there on October 19, 1943, after thirty years of confinement."