Camille Claudel and Bernhard Hoetger. Emancipation of Rodin

About

In a collaborative exhibition, the Alte Nationalgalerie is bringing together, for the first time since 1905, the sculptures of two artists whose work and paths crossed several times in Paris: Camille Claudel and Bernhard Hoetger. Both are united by their desire for recognition and their simultaneous rejection of the master of French sculpture, Auguste Rodin. Amidst the Parisian avant-garde, both the French sculptor and the German sculptor, ten years his junior, developed an artistic vitality that garnered international acclaim and is now being presented together again after 120 years.

The Alte Nationalgalerie is devoting its attention to a hitherto neglected and under-researched encounter in early 20th-century European art history: Camille Claudel (1864–1943) and Bernhard Hoetger (1874–1949). In 1905, the Parisian gallery owner Eugène Blot organized a double exhibition of the French sculptor Camille Claudel and the young German artist Bernhard Hoetger, who was residing in Paris. Twelve bronzes by Claudel were presented, including internationally renowned icons such as "La Valse" (1889–1905), "L'Implorante" (1894–1905), and "La Vague" (1897), as well as 46 bronze sculptures by Hoetger, along with plaster casts and drawings by the artist. The exhibition and the encounter with the accomplished Impressionist dealer Blot were of central importance to both. Particularly for the increasingly independent perception and dissemination of Claudel's oeuvre, which has been hailed as one of the most important contemporary artists. Hoetger also celebrated his artistic breakthrough in Paris with the exhibition. Thematic rooms in the Alte Nationalgalerie contextualize the works presented by the two artists in 1905 within the Parisian art scene and the Impressionist movement.

In 2024, with the support of the Ernst von Siemens Art Foundation, the Alte Nationalgalerie successfully acquired a bronze by Camille Claudel. Claudel's so-called "L'Implorante" (1894–1905) not only establishes a direct connection to the works of her teacher, mentor, and lover, Auguste Rodin (1840–1917), present in the Nationalgalerie's collection, but the acquisition also closes a crucial gap in the field of Impressionist sculpture and adds a significant piece to the collection's holdings of female artists.

The exhibition "Camille Claudel and Bernhard Hoetger. Emancipation from Rodin" at the Alte Nationalgalerie features approximately 140 objects, including 67 works by Claudel and Hoetger. In addition to works from the Alte Nationalgalerie, the Kupferstichkabinett (Museum of Prints and Drawings), and the Kunstgewerbemuseum (Museum of Decorative Arts), numerous international loans are on display. The Alte Nationalgalerie is complementing the selection of works previously shown under the same title at the Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum in Bremen from January 25 to May 18, 2025, with works from its own collection and loans. From September 12, 2025, to January 10, 2026, the Bremen selection will move to the Musée Camille Claudel in Nogent-sur-Seine, France.

Exhibition catalogue

Accompanying the exhibition is a richly illustrated 176-page catalogue in German and English, sponsored by the Ernst von Siemens Art Foundation.

Curatorial Team

The exhibition is curated by Yvette Deseyve, deputy director of the Alte Nationalgalerie and curator of sculpture, with the assistance of Sintje Guericke, research associate at the Alte Nationalgalerie.