A groundbreaking exhibition at the Camille Claudel Museum in Nogent-sur-Seine is bringing long-forgotten female sculptors from the late 19th and early 20th centuries back into the spotlight. Running from September 13, 2025, to January 4, 2026, the exhibition "Being a Sculptor in Paris, in the Time of Camille Claudel" will later travel to the Museum of Fine Arts in Tours (January 31 to June 1, 2026) and the Pont-Aven Museum (June 27 to November 8, 2026).
Most visitors have likely never heard of artists like Jessie Lipscomb, Madeleine Jouvray, or Sigrid af Forselles. Names such as Marie Cazin, Jeanne Itasse, and Blanche Moria remain equally unfamiliar to the general public. This obscurity is precisely what makes this modern sculpture exhibition so significant and necessary for contemporary audiences.
The former Dubois-Boucher Museum has strategically used Camille Claudel's legendary name to introduce a broader public to this largely forgotten chapter of art history. These featured artists are generally known only to specialists, making this exhibition one of the year's most important cultural events. Notably, while the show will travel to Tours and Pont-Aven, it will not make a stop in Paris.
The exhibition was curated by Anne Rivière, a Claudel specialist and author of the "Dictionary of Female Sculptors," published by Mare & Martin in 2017. Rivière previously organized an exhibition on female sculptors "from the 18th century to the present day" at the Museum of the Thirties in summer 2011. However, this current exhibition's more focused approach proves significantly more effective while remaining accessible to general audiences.
The exhibition is organized into four clear sections, with the first three being particularly dense and showcasing numerous works of varied materials and formats. These pieces come from French and European museums, notably from Scandinavian institutions. The exhibition also emphasizes the rare depictions of female sculptors in their studios or at work, highlighting the unusual nature of women pursuing sculpture during this period.
One striking example is the portrait by Édouard Dantan, bequeathed to the Avelines Museum of Saint-Cloud in 2009, which shows a sculptor surveying her creations. The beautiful effigy of Carolina Benedicks-Bruce could have served as the exhibition's poster image, as it defies, in Linda Hinners' words, all the prejudices of the era concerning what constituted appropriate occupation for a woman.
While the exhibition certainly takes a militant stance in advocating for these overlooked artists, it represents exemplary art historical work that far surpasses other more questionable attempts recently inflicted on Parisian audiences. The initiative deserves praise for being carried by three excellent provincial museums working in collaboration.
Visitors are welcomed by a sensual marble sculpture by Marguerite Syamour titled "Sleeping Sappho" from 1899. This 58 x 201 x 94.5 cm marble work, now housed at the Cambrai Museum of Fine Arts, enthusiastically received critical acclaim at the 1899 Salon, where this specialist in public statuary received recognition for her exceptional talent.
Rather than delivering a didactic lecture or seeking preconceived notions that primarily identify victims of historiography, the exhibition succeeds in recalling singular trajectories that often go against oversimplified interpretations. The show demonstrates how these women artists navigated and challenged the artistic establishment of their time, creating works that competed directly with their male contemporaries.
The comprehensive approach reveals not just individual artistic achievements but also the broader social and cultural context in which these women worked. Their sculptures, ranging from intimate portraits to public monuments, demonstrate the full range of artistic expression these artists achieved despite facing significant societal barriers and professional limitations during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
