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The sculptures kept in the Museum at Meudon, only some of which are on display, form what is known as a studio collection, that is to say, all the sketches, studies, maquettes, variations and original models carefully kept by the artist thoughout his life and, in the case of Rodin, donated to the French State in 1916. Most of them are in plaster. For a long time, plaster was not considered to be a noble material and had little value. However, it is of vital interest when studying 19th century sculpture for a plaster model is usually the first visible stage of a work-in-progress and, consequently, the closest to the hand of the sculptor.
Since the practice of direct carving had been abandoned in the 19th century, the sculptor was above all a modeller. He searched for the first idea of his composition in clay. He made his study by working with balls or sticks of clay which he shaped with the help of his thumbs, sometimes leaving very visible imprints, like the incisions made by a knife or roughing-chisel to emphasize certain effects. The next step was a more accurate maquette or model, mounted on an inner armature, which had to be wrapped in a damp cloth between working sessions to keep the clay malleable.