Walking Man, Rodin

"At the turn of the twentieth century, Rodin would abandon his more academically-themed works and turn to partial figures, focusing on the impressions given by their unique postures. Stripped down to the bare essentials, which highlighted their dynamic nature, these figures would mark Rodin’s wholehearted foray into the depiction of the Impressionist style. They were, in effect, the sculptural version of Impressionist artists’ quick, and decidedly rough paintings - sketches, as these paintings were once derisively called."

http://blogs.princeton.edu/wri152-3/f05/bgreeley/impressionist_works.html

Rodin's sculpture focuses solely on the movement of the body. By ignoring the head, we are not given the most obvious clues usually for defining the mood of the piece. This is focused entirely on the body and its method of moving. To me, it was reminiscent of Roman and Greek sculptural remains we find, liked Winged Victory, that although missing limbs and a head, speak volumes and are still considered beautiful in their "destroyed" state.