It is not clear whether this encounter ever actually took place, but it is telling for the importance of such “studio topoi” in biographies about visual artists. The anecdote, told by Rodin's biographer and admiring friend Judith Cladel, played a crucial role in her description of the controversy about whether or not Rodin had made life casts from his model for The Age of Bronze (1877). Although Rodin did his best to prove that he had modeled the work himself, pubic opinion only changed after several established painters wrote a letter in his defense. According to Cladel, the young sculptor Alfred Boucher became convinced of Rodin's claim once he had seen the sculptor at work. Boucher told the story to his master Paul Dubois, who, together with Henri Chapu, came to Rodin's studio, witnessed his expertise and wrote the letter that cleared his name. It is striking that Rodin, who later in life employed several praticiens to carve his marble statues — a practice not uncommon in the studios of successful sculptors — was so anxious to prove that he had done the modeling of his first free-standing figure himself. The modeling of sculptures by a statuaire — a status that Rodin sought to claim — was seen above all as intellectual artistic labor in the nineteenth century; the execution of the design in bronze or marble was considered a merely manual task. A cast from life was neither. In telling the anecdote, Cladel shows Rodin's ability to create, his genius, and emphasizes his purity and innocence by revealing a scene that was hidden from general view.

The Rodin anecdote is not unique. There are countless stories of artists, such as Tiepolo or Rembrandt, being admired for the speed and apparent ease with which they worked, dazzling or even tricking visitors.