[1] Inspired by fragments of Greek art[2] and incomplete work by Michelangelo,[1] Rodin modeled a small study of a headless, seated woman.

[2][3] Art critic Georges Grappe dated the sculpture to 1889 and stated without providing a source that it was a study for The Gates of Hell.

[4] In 1904, Rodin's assistant Henri Lebossé created an enlarged plaster version of the work[2] using a machine invented by Achille Collas.

[5] This monumental work was displayed as A Figure at the 1905 Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

[1][2] At that time, the sculpture was informally known by Rodin's friends and workers as Abruzzesi Seated after the woman who served as the model.