Editing Camille Claudel (section)

== Early years ==
Camille Claudel was born in [[Fère-en-Tardenois]], [[Aisne]],<ref name="Phaidon Editors">{{cite book |title=Great women artists |date=2019 |publisher=Phaidon Press |isbn=978-0714878775 |page=101}}</ref> in northern France, the first child of a family of farmers and [[gentry]]. Her father, Louis-Prosper Claudel, dealt in mortgages and bank transactions. Her mother, the former Louise-Athanaïse Cécile Cerveaux, came from a [[Champagne (province)|Champagne]] family of [[Catholic]] farmers and [[priest]]s. The family moved to [[Villeneuve-sur-Fère]] while Camille was still a baby. Her younger brother [[Paul Claudel]] was born there in 1868.<ref name=":2" /> Subsequently, they moved to [[Bar-le-Duc]] (1870), [[Nogent-sur-Seine]] (1876), and [[Wassy-sur-Blaise]] (1879), although they continued to spend summers in Villeneuve-sur-Fère, and the stark landscape of that region made a deep impression on the children.

From the ages of 5 to 12, Claudel was educated by the [[Sisters of Christian Doctrine of Nancy|Sisters of Christian Doctrine]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://heavy.com/news/2019/12/camille-claudel/|title=Camille Claudel: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know|last=Castro|first=Danilo|date=2019-12-08|website=Heavy.com|language=en|access-date=2020-04-17}}</ref> While living in Nogent-sur-Seine at age 12, Claudel began working with the local clay, regularly sculpting the human form.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

As Camille grew older, she enriched her artistic education with literature and old engravings.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Odile Ayral-Clause |title=Camille Claudel |date=2002}}</ref>

Her mother Louise did not approve of Claudel's "unladylike desire to become an artist."<ref name=":0" /> Her father was more supportive and took examples of her artwork to their artist neighbor Alfred Boucher, to assess her abilities.<ref name=":1" /> Boucher confirmed that Claudel was a capable, talented artist and encouraged her family to support her study of sculpture.<ref name="The Art Story" /><ref name=":1" /> Camille’s family  provided her with the same education as her brother, leading her to  reach a limitation in facilities in the area.{{sfn|Ayral-Clause|2002|p={{page needed|date=March 2025}}}} Camille moved with her mother, brother, and younger sister to the [[Montparnasse]] area of [[Paris]] in 1881. Her father remained behind, working to support them.<ref name="The Art Story">{{cite web |title=Camille Claudel Biography, Life & Quotes |url=https://www.theartstory.org/artist/claudel-camille/life-and-legacy/ |website=The Art Story |access-date=1 December 2019}}</ref>