Man’s naked form belongs to no particular moment in history it is eternal, and can be looked upon with joy by the people of all ages.

Rodin’s remark frames the nude not as a fashionable motif but as a timeless artistic subject. By calling the “naked form” eternal and not tied to any historical moment, he argues that the human body can carry meaning beyond costume, politics, or period style—communicating emotion, vitality, and beauty in a way that remains legible across cultures and centuries. The statement also functions as a defense of the nude in modern art: rather than being indecent or merely academic, it is presented as a universal language of form that can legitimately inspire “joy” in viewers of any age.