Edme Bouchardon was considered his century's greatest sculptor by many contemporaries, but his classicizing style was out of step with French tastes for the Rococo. Not only did King Louis XV offer few commissions, but of those commissions, most did not progress beyond the model stage.

After winning the Prix de Rome, Bouchardon got first-hand experience of antique sculpture in Rome from 1723 to 1732, where he gained fame and commissions, even from the pope. In 1732 Bouchardon received an apartment in the Louvre, but he was subsequently underemployed for a decade. When the Salon was revived in 1737, Bouchardon exhibited his models as well as his famous red-chalk drawings; both were highly sought after by his peers, including François...