Elizabeth Peyton and Camille Claudel in Dialogue at Villa Medici

At Villa Medici in Rome, a 2017 exhibition titled "Eternelle Idole" juxtaposes works by contemporary painter Elizabeth Peyton (b. 1965) with sculptures by 19th-century artist Camille Claudel (1864–1943). The show borrows its name from a Rodin sculpture featuring two intertwined lovers. Claudel's sensual, intimate works—such as "Abandon" and "Eternal Idol"—are placed in conversation with Peyton's portraits of contemporary icons like David Bowie, Sergei Polunin, and David Fray. Peyton's watercolors and drawings capture her subjects with introspective fragility, while Claudel's bronzes emphasize erotic tension and emotional depth. The exhibition also includes a facade project by Peyton for the restored Villa Medici, combining photographic blow-ups of Claudel's "Les Amants" with portraits of Bowie and Claudel herself by Rodin. The show explores themes of love, desire, and the timelessness of the human form.