Auguste Rodin is widely considered the nineteenth century's most important sculptor. When he modelled Project for a Monument to the Defense of Paris, however, his reputation had not yet been made. In 1879 a competition was held for a memorial to the defense of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War, which ended with France's defeat in 1871. More than sixty sculptors vied for the commission, among them Rodin. His entry, Project for a Monument to the Defense of Paris, was rejected. Rodin later said that the sculpture, alive with the passion of French Romanticism, "must have appeared too violent, too intense" for the judges, who expected calm and dignity in public monuments.

In Project for a Monument to the Defense of Paris a warrior sinks downward, supporting himself by the sword in his left hand. The Genius, or Spirit, of War, bare-breasted, her arms flung wide, rises behind him. Screaming her fury, she tries to rouse the warrior, who has fallen in battle to save Paris.

Moving around the sculpture, we find that from different points of view, different forms are prominent: the Genius' out-thrust arms and clenched fists; the great, feathered wings, one folded back on itself; the right arm of the warrior, jutting forward into space; the strained muscles of his left arm, bearing the weight of his spent body. The spiraling composition carries the viewer's eye upward.

The sculpture is highly active. Where the forms reach outward, the space between sculpture and viewer is charged with energy. The bronze bronze reflects light from its rippling surface. Caught in mid-action, the Genius' wings push downward, beating the air, and the warrior, head thrown back, slumps slowly to the ground.