This one is very well-known, Le Penseur by Auguste Rodin is the picture you'll see whenever philosophy or a will to appear smart is manifested. And that's a logical choice: the guy is called the Thinker, and he looks very absorbed, far from relaxed, the sculptor payed attention to all of his muscles included his face to show that he's dealing with abstruse matters.
What is less-known, is that it was originally made to be a piece of a bigger work, the Gates of Hell, inspired by Dante's Divine Comedy. A more complete version does indeed exist. That's what made Rodin an exception: he used molds and replicated his statues, hence posing for the first time the questions of authenticity and unicity of art. Of course, with photography and then the internet, this question has become even more crucial for art and its lucrative market.
Also, especially given the angle, you might be wondering why he has a tiny penis. (No offense intended if it's still bigger than yours)
And why all Greek statues have also a tiny dong.
That's because at the time (ancient Greece and then XIXth century), there was a body-mind opposition. Same way today the jock in movies is stupid, back then the ideal of smartness was a being of pure mind, not bothered by vulgar preoccupations like sex.
So yeah, little genitals = big brain.
What is less-known, is that it was originally made to be a piece of a bigger work, the Gates of Hell, inspired by Dante's Divine Comedy. A more complete version does indeed exist. That's what made Rodin an exception: he used molds and replicated his statues, hence posing for the first time the questions of authenticity and unicity of art. Of course, with photography and then the internet, this question has become even more crucial for art and its lucrative market.
And why all Greek statues have also a tiny dong.
That's because at the time (ancient Greece and then XIXth century), there was a body-mind opposition. Same way today the jock in movies is stupid, back then the ideal of smartness was a being of pure mind, not bothered by vulgar preoccupations like sex.
So yeah, little genitals = big brain.