Homme de la nuit belongs to this hybrid production that critics will qualify as "fantastic". The figure is situated between man and beast and it emanates a supernatural power. The treatment of the material contributes to accentuate the expressive dimension. Germaine Richier abandons the smooth and neat contours, and uses the material to bring mystery and strangeness to her sculptures. The artist's fingers and the mark of the tools appear: "accidents" that are part of the elaboration of the work and that recall the traces left by Rodin. This art of the accident makes it rock in the modernity. The method of triangulation taught by Bourdelle stands out in the lower part of the work, and the base is considered in a new way.

With Homme de la nuit, Germaine Richier oscillates between transmission and transgression with the masters of sculpture. Bourdelle's teaching and Rodin's legacy are visible in this work, which places her in a continuity of figurative sculpture, while making undeniable stylistic and thematic breaks.