Brancusi's transformation of the tradition of classical sculpture is seen in the way in which he focused on the body. This is clearest in his early work, Fragment of a Torso (1909-10). Perhaps simply through poverty, he had only a broken off-cut of marble in which to create his form. This results in the remarkable transition from delicate naturalism, on one side, to chipped roughness, on the other. Although he did not repeat this in all subsequent versions, this work refers to a classical heritage of archaeological fragments which he revered

By the 1920s the artist's pursuit of this theme resulted in the ideal form of Torso of a Young Girl (1922). This work is hardly descriptive of the human body and instead establishes a droplet-like form which may be seen as an interpretation of the body as vessel.