Persée et la Gorgone
Persée et la Gorgone
« C’est Médusa », « C’est Percy Jackson ! ». Dès qu’ils aperçoivent Persée et la Gorgone, sculpture en marbre de Camille Claudel, les enfants sont heureux de reconnaître le sujet de l’œuvre grâce à une série de romans qui leur est destinée.
Cette version achevée en 1902 est le seul marbre monumental de Camille Claudel. Commandée par la comtesse de Maigret, mécène de l’artiste, la taille du marbre a été confiée à François Pompon, d’après le modèle en plâtre exposé au Salon du Champ-de-Mars en 1899.
La mythologie grecque en est bien la source d’inspiration. Athéna transforma les trois sœurs Gorgones en monstres par vengeance. Leurs chevelures qui les rendaient autrefois irrésistibles auprès de leurs prétendants furent remplacées par des serpents et la déesse les affubla d’ailes d’or. Elles avaient également le pouvoir de pétrifier tous ceux qui croisaient leur regard. Persée réussit toutefois l’exploit de trancher la tête de Méduse, seule mortelle des trois Gorgones, en utilisant son bouclier poli en guise de miroir, pour la voir sans la regarder.
Persée est triomphant. Les serpents s’enroulent autour du bras du héros victorieux brandissant la tête. Des entrelacements figurant du sang s’échappent du cou de la Gorgone et se mêlent à un drapé, dirigeant le regard du visiteur jusqu’au corps sans tête de Méduse, qui gît, recroquevillé. Dans sa main droite, Persée tenait un bouclier, qui a aujourd’hui disparu. Le sujet de la sculpture est aisément identifiable : Camille Claudel montre à la fois la joie du vainqueur et sa lutte récente contre la créature. Quant aux postures des personnages, l’artiste les a reprises de deux de ses œuvres antérieures, La Valse et la Femme accroupie. À qui donc le visage de la Gorgone a-t-il emprunté ses traits ? Paul Claudel écrit en 1951 dans Ma sœur Camille : « Ce visage au bout de ce bras levé, oui, il me semble bien en reconnaître les traits décomposés. » ; sans le dire explicitement, l’écrivain sous-entend que sa sœur se serait représentée.
Entreprises mécènes : EDF, Crédit Agricole de Champagne-Bourgogne, Saipol et Diester industrie, SCS Sorodi, Groupe Soufflet, Nature d'origine, POK, Gaget, A.N.A.U. architectes, SIABA, Larbaletier, Lenoir et associés architectes, ACMM, Imprimerie La Renaissance, Emin Leydier, Prieur et associés.
Voir aussi dans les collections :
Le Musée caché 2023
Exposition de photographies en plein air
Since September 2022, Nogent-sur-Seine school children have been participating in an ambitious artistic project with the Nature Association of Nogentais and photographer Philippe Brame.
Nature is the common theme of the artworks and archaeological objects "hidden" in the selected reserves by the students. During sessions at the museum and outdoors, they were able to observe, understand, write about, and photograph nature, whether real or represented.
From this project, an exhibition of photographs was born, combining the students' snapshots with the museum's artworks: to be visited throughout the summer!
Des croquis d'après nature à Persée et la Gorgone
Dans les années 1890, exaspérée par les critiques qui rapprochaient sans cesse son travail de celui d’Auguste Rodin, Camille Claudel a recherché une esthétique résolument personnelle et moderne. Les Croquis d’après nature sont l’aboutissement de ses réflexions. Ces œuvres de petites dimensions représentent des scènes observées dans le quotidien. Ainsi, pour Les Causeuses, elle s’est inspirée d’un groupe de femmes dans un compartiment de train. Elle travaillait de mémoire et sans modèle, selon une méthode inhabituelle pour l’époque. Elle portait une attention particulière à la justesse et à l’expressivité de chaque personnage pour dépasser la dimension anecdotique au profit de l’universel. L’impression d’instantanéité, de mouvement et de vie qui se dégage de ces scènes est frappante. Malgré l’abondance des Croquis d’après nature mentionnés par les sources de l’époque, très peu nous sont parvenus. Certains ont probablement été détruits par l’artiste dans des moments de détresse.
Autour de La Valse
La Valse est une oeuvre emblématique de Camille Claudel qui a connu plusieurs variantes. Dans la première version, un grand format, les danseurs étaient entièrement nus. En 1892, l’artiste a sollicité la commande d’une traduction en marbre. Armand Dayot, l’inspecteur chargé d’examiner le groupe pour le ministère, a été impressionné par sa qualité, mais, pour des raisons esthétiques et morales, il a demandé à la sculptrice d’habiller ses figures. Camille Claudel a alors exécuté une deuxième version avec une draperie s’enroulant depuis les pieds des danseurs jusqu’au-dessus de leurs têtes. Malgré l’avis favorable d’Armand Dayot, la commande du marbre n’a jamais abouti et il ne subsiste de cette étape qu’un exemplaire en bronze. Les variantes présentées ici sont plus tardives. Il s’agit d’une troisième version, de plus petites dimensions et au drapé simplifié. Ces éditions ont été produites pour le commerce et chaque tirage diffère légèrement dans les matériaux choisis et l’assemblage des danseurs.
Paintings
The Camille Claudel Museum is home to around 300 paintings. Ancient painting is represented by a small number of objects from different schools, which have been added to the collections through donations received by the museum.
Some 18th century paintings from Alfred Boucher’s collection are remarkable, such as Le Serpent d’airain (The brazen serpent) by Corrado Giaquinto, Tête de vieillard by Noël Hallé or La Jeunesse de Turenne by Jean-Baptiste Le Prince. The Portrait of Claude Bouthillier de Chavigny (around 1643) and Le Livon by Joseph Vernet (1764) were acquired for their connections with the history of Nogent-sur-Seine and its surroundings.
The majority of the paintings date from the 19th or early 20th century. There are coherent sets of exhibits, such as the paintings by Léonce Vaÿsse donated by the artist, the paintings by Alfred Boucher acquired in conjunction with his sculptures and those by René Demeurisse donated by his daughter. Finally, the magnificent Emile Boeswillwald collection is a testimony to the roots of this family of architects and artists in Nogent, who owned a house in the commune. They mainly feature portraits and still life works.
Archaeological remains
At the beginning of the 20th century, collectors were captivated by archaeological remains, although they were usually nothing more than objects of curiosity. When the museum opened in Nogent-sur-Seine, several donors contributed a variety of artefacts to the collection, some of which disappeared during the Second World War. In 1962, André Lemoine founded the Groupe Archéologique du Nogentais (the Nogent Archaeological Group). This was a pivotal period for the emergence of archaeology as a scientific discipline and the excavations carried out by the GAN took advantage of the latest techniques, notably through aerial surveys. To preserve the discovered furniture, the GAN was granted a room in the former museum, which was closed to the public at the time. In return, they agreed to assist in the reopening of the museum, which finally took place in 1974. In 1978, a young archaeologist, Jacques Piette, was appointed curator. He undertook extensive excavations in the Nogent area up until the 1990s, and made substantial contributions to the museum’s collections. Approximately 9,000 artifacts or collections of artifacts are now preserved in the Camille Claudel Museum. Some remarkable sites include the tombs and dwellings at Les Grèves de Frécul (Neolithic), the funerary complex at Barbuise-La Saulsotte (Final Bronze Age), the Gallic sanctuary at La Villeneuve-au-Châtelot (Iron Age) and the pottery workshops excavated in the same commune (Gallo-Roman period).
Domains
Ceramics
When it was created, the museum in Nogent-sur-Seine had a very extensive collection of ceramics, which included donations from Madame Boucher and hundreds of vases and sculptures in biscuit porcelain donated by the “Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres” porcelain factory. Unfortunately, most of these objects were lost when the museum was looted during the Second World War.
The vases are now kept in storage, with the exception of the spectacular Ronde des enfants by Dalou. A number of porcelain biscuits and stoneware works can also be admired in the rooms, an exhibition that has been updated by acquisitions and new donations. The exhibition features prestigious works in which the Manufacture de Sèvres sought to illustrate its technical expertise (Les Ondines by Alfred Boucher, Le Char de Diane and Le Char de Minerve by Emmanuel Fremiet), as well as the unrivalled stoneware edition of Camille Claudel’s La Valse (The Waltz) by the “Manufacture Emile Muller” ceramic factory.
La Valse
La Valse
Emile Muller no14
La Valse (The Waltz) is arguably Camille Claudel’s most famous work. It was conceived between 1889 and 1893 and coincides with a period of intense production and the artist’s passionate relationship with Auguste Rodin.
In 1892, Claudel applied to the State for a marble commission, but the Beaux-Arts inspector refused the first version that featured dancers who were completely naked. To accommodate his expectations, the artist transformed the work by adding draperies, but the transition to marble was unsuccessful.
She then reworked the group and proposed a third version, with fewer draperies, smaller dimensions, and produced in several materials. It is examples of this third version that are presented in the Camille Claudel Museum. Only one of these examples in flamed stoneware has presently been located.
In the 19th century, the waltz was the couple’s dance by excellence and ballroom dancing spread throughout society. However, Claudel was not interested in recounting anecdotes or passing trends. The partial nudity of the dancers removes them from any temporal context and draws them towards a sense of universality. In this respect, the artist adheres to the symbolist trend. The swirling movement of the waltzers and the couple’s embrace embody the concept of a sensual dance. The diagonal of the bodies underlines imbalance, and the skirt accentuates the spiralling movement of the figures. In this way, the next step is already being suggested: The artist thus shows how swiftly the waltz unfolds, drawing the couple into a whirlwind that never seems to stop. With The Waltz, Camille Claudel won the appreciation of many of her contemporaries: “Only an elevated and open mind could have conceived this embodiment of what cannot be seen”, wrote Léon Daudet.
Camille Claudel
After fading into oblivion, Camille Claudel is now recognised as one of the great artists of her time.
She was born in 1864 in the Aisne region of France into a middle-class family and began modelling clay at a very young age, as a self-taught artist. The sculptor Alfred Boucher spotted her talent in Nogent-sur-Seine and became her first teacher. When he left for Italy, he entrusted her to a friend, Auguste Rodin. The young girl promptly joined the master’s studio and for ten years, the two sculptors shared their lives and studios, exchanging ideas, models and influences. Camille Claudel then affirmed her unique style, created a number of virtuoso works and became increasingly famous. After their separation, hurt by the constant comparison of her work with Rodin’s, she asserted her independence as an artist by completely redefining her inspiration. In the midst of mastering her art, Camille Claudel’s creativity was nevertheless thwarted by delusions of persecution. She barricaded herself in, destroyed her works and was eventually committed to a mental institution at the request of her family for the remainder of her life in 1943.
