This unfinished figure of a boy squatting in an uncomfortable pose is the only work by the great Michelangelo in Russia. The conception of the statue apparently dates to the period when the sculptor was working on the Medici Chapel in the New Sacristy of the Church of San Lorenzo in Florence. A drawing has survived that reflects one of the earliest designs for the tomb featuring figures of youths in niches crouching in poses reminiscent of the Hermitage statue.
The sculptor probably then himself abandoned this concept and worked on the block of marble, intending the sculpture for some other project. The image that Michelangelo created reflects the master's tragic mood after the defeat of the republic and the establishment of the dictatorial rule of the Medici in Florence.