Claudel “La Petite Châtelaine”

Between 1890 and 1893, at the height of their relationship, Claudel and Rodin stayed several times at the romantic château L’Islette in the Loire Valley. There Claudel portrayed the six-year-old Madeleine Boyer, the granddaughter of the owner of the château. The girl posed for a total of 62 hours, for which Claudel rewarded her with a doll.

In the years that followed, Claudel produced four marble versions of the portrait. The most elaborate of these, with detailed hair and a marble base, was executed in 1896 on behalf of the industrialist Henri Fontaine. The statue harks back to Renaissance sculpture, and shows the great craftsmanship that Claudel had learned from Boucher.

Height: 16cm