Camille Claudel created the sculpture after her breakup with her 20-year-older professional colleague Auguste Rodin.
The two had a stormy relationship, which is expressed in the sculpture, where an old woman pulls an aging man away from a young woman, who is praying on her knees.
The artwork was sold at an auction in the city of Orléans south of Paris for 3.1 million euros, significantly higher than the expected 1.5-2 million euros.
The sculpture has several copies, but Claudel destroyed many of her works before she was locked up in a mental hospital by her brother. Despite both doctors and friends saying that she was completely healthy, Claudel was never released from the hospital and lived there until her death in 1943.
Another sculpture by the artist, "Dream by the Fireplace", has been part of the National Museum's collection in Stockholm since 2023.
