The Age of Bronze 1876, reduced c. 1903-04, date of cast unknown Bronze 26 x 8 ½  x  7 in. Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation In 1875 Rodin began work on a life-size male nude intended for the Paris Salon. This nude, first titled The Vanquished, was based on classical tradition but was modeled naturalistically, without the exaggerated musculature of Greek and Roman sculpture. Rodin first presented The Vanquished in Brussels, where critics were suspicious of his exquisite rendering of the human form and accused him of casting it from life. The rumors followed as Rodin submitted the nude, now titled The Age of Bronze, to the Paris Salon of 1877. Although it was praised for its beauty, the work was rejected and Rodin was forced to defend himself against the same accusations.