Auguste Rodin’s stolen bust found

In the city of Montbrison (Montbrison), in the Loire region, the French police discovered a bronze bust of the famous French sculptor Auguste Rodin (Auguste Rodin, 1840-1917), made by Camille Claudel (Camille Claudel, 1864-1943). The bust was stolen 13 years ago from the Museum of Fine Arts and Archeology in the city of Guerin (Hera), reports The Daily Telegraph.

The sculpture was discovered by chance in a car with antiques, the owner of which and his accomplice, the police persecuted for several weeks due to a series of thefts in the Lyon area. The detainees could not explain where the bust stolen in 1999 came from. Exquisite work is estimated at 1.25 million US dollars.

Camille Claudel, a French artist and sculptor, met Rodin while studying at the Academy of Colarossi, in 1884. She became not only a student of Rodin, but also his mistress and source of inspiration for many years. In 1905, Camilla’s mental condition worsened and in 1913, at the insistence of her brother, poet and diplomat Paul Claudel (Paul Claudel, 1868-1955), she was taken to the hospital, where she remained for the next 30 years. During the period of constant depression, Claudel destroyed many of her works, but about 90 of her works were still preserved.

In 1988, the biographical film Camilla Claudel, French director Bruno Nuytten, was released on the big screen, starring Isabelle Adjani and Gerard Depardieu.

Anna Sidorova