The sculpture “The First Love” is Axel Poulsen's breakthrough piece, and it was a large part of the reason why Poulsen was awarded the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts' Eckersberg Medal in 1914. The work was created in Rome and the figures' slender limbs are clearly inspired by the early Italian renaissance and especially Donatello (1386–1466), whom Axel Poulsen felt artistically akin to. Axel Poulsen shared his interest for the early renaissance with his contemporary colleague Einar Utzon-Frank (1888–1955), who, however, to a greater degree was focused on the formal inspiration, while Axel Poulsen was interested in the universal human themes.

A version of the motif - created in 1916 - can be found in Copenhagen in the collection at the National Gallery of Denmark, and a version in plaster can be found in the collection at BRANDTS - Museum for Art and Visual Culture in Odense.