La joueuse de flte

In a letter to Eugne Blot in the archives of the Muse Rodin, Camille Claudel proposes "une petite faunesse qui joue de la flte qui vous intresserait peut-tre". Alternatively called La sirne, La joueuse de flte was one of the last works conceived by Claudel and, according to Blot, one of her favourites. Exhibited first at the Salon des Artistes Franais in 1905, the work was originally subject to a limit of 30 casts. Records from 1937, however, show that only six were ever sold, and this number represents the entire casting of the piece. In keeping with her inclination for juxtaposing different materials of contrasting colour and texture (see lot 226), Claudel had also conceived a version of La joueuse de flte with the rock modelled in onyx and the instrument in a silver coloured metal. However, this was never executed however.

"Le corps de femme, l'un des plus beaux qui soient sortis des mains du sculpteur, comme toujours chez Camille, est soumis au mouvement de l'action: genoux joints, les pieds agripps au rocher, l'assise en contrebas accentue la tension des jambes et la cambrure du dos"(Paris and de la Chapelle, op. cit., p. 201). The present work betrays a preoccupation with the muscular tensions of the body in contrapposto that recalls the work of Claudel's teacher Rodin, whilst still retaining the sense of harmony that the peaceful flautist evokes.