Portræt af Sokrates, siddende

The Greek philosopher Socrates may have been sunk in thought like this, his head slightly bowed and his body aged. But the head does not match the seated figure. The head is in the Greek style, carved after familiar Greek busts of Socrates. The body, however, is in the Roman style. It is more sunken, more everyday- like and realistic than any Greek figure would ever be. The 19th century saw an explosive, parallel growth of interest in philosophy, history, and cast collections. The philosopher G.W.F. Hegel wrote that Socrates and Antiquity may well be exemplary, but not as perfect as Hegel’s own time. Hegel believed that unlike his own era, the Ancients’ philosophy was so infused with everyday life that its art and thinking could never develop a complete system for human thought and awareness. With this position in mind it seemed natural to build museums with cast collections that traced the development of human thought from Socrates to Hegel.