Young Girl with a Sheaf depicts a seated young woman leaning against a sheaf of wheat. Camille Claudel has emphasized the firmness of her flesh against the foil of a roughly modeled background. The figure's head twists toward the right, while she draws her right arm close to her body and crosses her knees, denying an overt sexuality and instead emphasizing her modesty. Such a pose invites the viewer to regard the sculpture from different angles, while allowing Claudel to capture the tension that underlies this awkward stance.

By specializing in small-scale sculpture, Claudel developed a following of private collectors and produced multiple editions to meet the demand for her work. For example, she produced several versions of Young Girl with a Sheaf, including one in terra cotta and a series of twelve cast in bronze (this example is the eighth). Claudel gained renown for exercising direct control over the process of casting her sculptures in bronze-thus emphasizing the technical aspect of the artist's hand-rather than following the traditional workshop system of relinquishing the clay model to specialized technicians.