Rare Camille Claudel bronze estimated up to €2M to auction at Drouot in September

A third lifetime cast of Camille Claudel's "La Jeunesse et L'Âge mûr" will be auctioned at Drouot on September 20, 2026, with an estimated value of €1.5–2 million. Discovered in a family estate in the Paris area, this piece was created by Eugène Blot around 1907 and authenticated by the Lacroix-Jeannest cabinet, remaining unnoticed since the 1990s. It is the third Blot cast produced under Claudel's direction, marked as number 5, and may have been part of Blot's collection until 1937. The sculpture illustrates a young woman reaching out to an older man, symbolizing Claudel's split from Auguste Rodin. The first bronze cast resides at the Musée d'Orsay. Significant exhibitions took place at the Getty Museum (2024) and the Art Institute of Chicago (2023).