Rodin sculpted the work in Belgium, having returned from a trip to Italy in 1875. In this light, the piece is hugely indebted to Rodin’s encounter with the Renaissance masters, and particularly to the work of Michelangelo – the pose of the figure recalling the Italian artist’s Dying Gaul (Louvre Museum). The apparent lack of a ‘theme’ for the sculpture relates to the sculptor’s desire to engage with the same theme of the great Italian and ancient masters: the inspection, analysis and depiction of beauty – male beauty, in this particular instance.
When Rodin exhibited the work in 1877, the quality of the modelling was such that he was accused of having cast it directly from life - in other words, of taking a mould of a human body and casting it in bronze. Indeed, Rodin had to enlist the help of the Belgian soldier, Auguste Neyt, who sat as model to give evidence on behalf of him.
In spite of the scandal, Rodin gained two significant benefits from this initial rejection. First, the work became notorious, thus increasing his reputation; second, this incident influenced the rest of his career, as the artist never made a life-size work again, opting instead for over life-size or smaller than life-size modelling which characterised his production.