Young Roman

CC0 Public Domain Designation

Modeled c. 1882-87

Camille Claudel (French, 1864–1943)

In this plaster bust of her teenage brother, Paul, Camille Claudel portrayed the future writer and diplomat as a proud Roman patrician. The sitter’s solemn expression and the strictly frontal composition contrast with the thin drapery that swirls around his shoulders and ripples across his chest. Painted by the artist with transparent layers of yellow, red, green, and brown, the work imitates the oxidized surfaces of ancient Greek and Roman bronzes.

Claudel was among the most daring and visionary sculptors of the late 19th century. From around 1905 her mental health declined and, in 1913, she was forcibly interned for the remainder of her life in a psychiatric facility, having displayed symptoms of what was called paranoid psychosis. This event marked the premature end of her career.

Status: On View, Gallery 201
Department: Painting and Sculpture of Europe

Artist: Camille Claudel
Title: Young Roman
Place: France (Artist's nationality:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1882–1887
Medium: Plaster with polychrome patina
Dimensions: 52 × 45 × 27 cm (20 1/2 × 17 3/4 × 10 11/16 in.)
Credit Line: Through prior bequest of Joseph Winterbotham; purchased with funds provided by an anonymous donor, Anne Searle Bent, and Celia and David Hilliard
Reference Number: 2022.1438
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/265059/manifest.json

Emerson Bowyer and Anne-Lise Desmas, Camille Claudel, exh. cat. (Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2023), vi-vii (ill.), 2, 82, 102-04 (ill.), 235, 286 cat. 3.

Art Institute of Chicago, Camille Claudel, Oct 7, 2023–Feb 19, 2024, cat. 3; Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum, Apr. 2-July 21, 2024

The artist; Eugène Blot (died 1938), Paris, probably after 1904 and by 1913 [this and the following according to Eve Turbat, Critical Catalogue of the Work of Camille Claudel (forthcoming), cat. 2020-0294P]; private collection, France, after 1932 and by 1939 [this and the following according to restricted documentation provided by the Galerie Malaquais, Sep. 16, 2022]; by descent within the family; sold to Galerie Malaquais, Paris, 2021; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 2022.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

Suggested Terms

On View

Date:

Artist:

About this artwork

Status

Department

Artist

Title

Place

Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Medium

Dimensions

Credit Line

Reference Number

IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

Extended information about this artwork

Publication History

Exhibition History

Provenance

Share

Explore Further

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Gallery actions

Image actions

Share

IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.