The work of Brancusi redefined sculpture for a new century. Born in Romania but living in Paris after 1904, Brancusi aimed to develop a sculptural idiom that looked absolutely modern. His work moved beyond the verisimilitude and melodrama exemplified by the vastly popular sculpture of Auguste Rodin. Brancusi sought inspiration in ancient, folk, and exotic precedents that preceded or bypassed the classical Western tradition of sculpture. This brought Brancusi to simplified forms, reduction of details, and hand carving of materials.

As Brancusi's career continued, he worked with an ever-growing penchant for stylistic schematization and freedom from detail. In the twenty-year span from the first carving of Mademoiselle Pogany to the third and final version, the model's facial features virtually disappear, her arms become a single fin, and her chignon hairstyle a scalloped cascade strongly reminiscent of contemporary architecture and design. The aspect of portraiture remains, however, as Brancusi persuasively conveys the sense of Margit Pogany's exotically deep-set eyes and reserved demeanor. Twentieth Century Painting and Sculpture in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (2000), p. 44.