Around 1900, Maillol was already making sculptures, but also created many book illustrations, mostly for classical texts, such as Georgica by Vergil, Ars Amoris by Ovid, Dialogues of the Courtisans by Lucian of Samosatas, and Daphnis and Chloe by Longus. His preferred motif was the female nude, which he depicted in various poses and in different mediums. However, he was of the opinion that it was not enough to reproduce the model; art was not the copying of nature. Besides drawing, he made sculptures of terracotta, until Ambroise Vollard, who organized the first and only solo exhibition during the artist's lifetime, suggested that for this exhibition in 1902, he should have his sculpture cast in bronze, financed by Vollard.
Rodin admired the young colleague and is reported to have said about him: "What is so admirable in Maillol, you could say eternal, is the purity , the clarity of his workmanship and his thoughts".
