This was one of the first of Rodin's truncated, partial figures or 'fragments' to be shown as sculpture in its own right, rather than as an incomplete study. Inspired in part by damaged classical sculpture and incomplete work by Michelangelo, which he had studied in the Louvre and in Italy, these partial figures held great significance for the development of sculpture in the 20th century, influencing a number of sculptors including Henry Moore.
The model for this figure was Anna Abbruzzesi, a well-known model whom Rodin admired. It first appeared with a head as part of the third maquette (study) for the monument to Victor Hugo. A small version of the figure was originally conceived for The Gates of Hell, the bronze portal and doors for the new Museum of Decorative Arts, Paris, which Rodin was asked to design in 1880. The enlarged plaster version, exhibited as 'une figure' in the 1905 Salon, was the work of Rodin's trusted assistant Henri Lebossé. This bronze is the only cast made in Rodin's lifetime. It was produced specially for an exhibition of contemporary French art at Grosvenor House in London in 1914 where it was called 'Cybele', the ancient Greek goddess of the earth, and it was presented by Rodin to the V&A later that year.