[1] After several applications and several years of living in poverty, his enrollment in the École des Beaux-Arts was accepted in 1885, and he studied there under Jean-Léon Gérôme and Alexandre Cabanel.

In 1893 Maillol opened a tapestry workshop in Banyuls, producing works whose high technical and aesthetic quality gained him recognition for renewing this art form in France.

His home a few kilometers outside Banyuls, also the site of his final resting place, has been turned into a museum, the Musée Maillol Banyuls-sur-Mer, where a number of his works and sketches are displayed.

Three of his bronzes grace the grand staircase of the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City: Summer (1910–11), Venus Without Arms (1920), and Kneeling Woman: Monument to Debussy (1950–55).

[13] A photograph from May 24, 1946, shows "Six men, members of the Monuments, Fine Arts & Archives section of the military, prepare Aristide Maillol's sculpture Baigneuse à la draperie, looted during World War II for transport to France.

Aristide Maillol's work has had a profound and enduring impact on both modern and contemporary art, particularly within the realms of sculpture, the representation of the human body, and the revival of classical forms in the 20th century.

In his 1941 writings, Moore stated, "Maillol's influence was important to me because of the calm and permanence that his figures suggest, as well as his return to classical balance and volume."

Kramer remarked that Maillol's works possess an "elemental calm" and reflect an anti-Romantic sentiment, contrasting sharply with the emotional intensity of Rodin.

Elsen, in his study of Maillol's work, argued that his influence can be seen in the development of modernist sculpture, particularly through his focus on the essential harmony of form and space, a concept that paved the way for mid-century minimalism.

In reinterpreting Maillol's figures, Oliver Aoun critiqued the traditional Western gaze and proposed a more inclusive dialogue around the representation of women in art.

[18] Maillol's influence persists not only in sculpture but also in broader conversations about the role of classical ideals in contemporary art, inviting ongoing re-evaluation and reinterpretation.