It's a Brain Thing
Was it a depiction of the science of the brain, the demonstration of hemispherical discovery, or even sexual manifestation.
The sculpture was created by a Frenchman named Auguste Rodin in the late 19th century. This iconic figure was originally called "Le Penseur". In English it is known as The Thinker, so strong an image, that it is easily brought to mind without even seeing it again.
Looking at the famous statue analytically though, the question that arises is; why does the Thinker have his right elbow on his left leg in this unnatural pose?
The statue depicts a man with his right elbow is touching his left knee… most miss or do not ponder. However if you attempt this physically the pose feels very unnatural. In fact when you try it, it’s actually awkward to do… so Why is the Thinker, Thinking like this?
Could it be just a gimmick the artist sculpted as a mind joke, or is there a deeper meaning? Quite honestly I do not know and google searches do not help in this vein.
So here are some thoughts
But, Feel free to add your own ideas as well, as it can be a good thinking project for you thinker types.
First Idea: The left brain knows and controls what the right hand is doing... in fact most right-handed people have left-hemisphere-dominant brains (and vice versa). This left-side dominance display greater learning, information processing, language and speech aptitude/s. So the right hand of the thinker allows us to understand he is problem solving, looking for the solution or how to address it.
As the man sits with chiseled muscles depicting a life of physical action, he sits still in a position that does not lend itself to continued action. So if you are a physical person and want to really think, you purposefully sit in a position not conducive to action. Was this to depict that cognition was separate from action, or that this man was beyond the mindless activity and now deeper in the thoughts of humanness.
Second Idea: Is this a sign of severe intimidation as the full body posture may suggest? Just look, the body is folded as protection, the head bowed as opposed to lifted for inspiration, the heals are up to flee if needed, the body is not grounded or settled. The mouth is compressed to hold in a scream, with the hand even more awkwardly facing outward in an even more contorted anguish.
Third Idea: Could it be the ravages of masturbation on the human, which I will not go into, but you may by following this link:
What are your thoughts about what the thinker is thinking about?
Inspired by a recent post: https://steemit.com/art/@leoplaw/pondering-the-thinker
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Image Credit: sixdayart, mercedesbenz. azalaw