''Democritus meditating on the seat of the soul'' (''Démocrite méditant sur le siège de l'âme'') is a

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...

Léon-Alexandre Delhomme Léon-Alexandre Delhomme (20 July 1841, in Tournon-sur-Rhône, Ardèche – 1895 or 1893, in Paris) was French sculptor. He is immortalised by a statue in the cimetière du Montparnasse in Paris. Life He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts, in t ...

(1841–1895), exhibited at the

Paris Salon The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...

of 1868. It shows the Greek philosopher

Democritus Democritus (; el, Δημόκριτος, ''Dēmókritos'', meaning "chosen of the people"; – ) was an Ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from Abdera, primarily remembered today for his formulation of an atomic theory of the universe. No ...

, his eyes fixed on a skull he holds in his hands. It is now exhibited in the garden of the

Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon The Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon (french: Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon) is a municipal museum of fine arts in the French city of Lyon. Located near the Place des Terreaux, it is housed in a former Benedictine convent which was active during the 1 ...

. On its base is inscribed an extract from the 29th fable of

La Fontaine Jean de La Fontaine (, , ; 8 July 162113 April 1695) was a French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his ''Fables'', which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Euro ...

:Livre VIII - fable XXVI - Démocrite et les abdéritains :"

Hippocrates Hippocrates of Kos (; grc-gre, Ἱπποκράτης ὁ Κῷος, Hippokrátēs ho Kôios; ), also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician of the classical period who is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of ...

in time arrived at the conclusion that he had not sought whether the heart or the head was the seat of either reason or sense in man and beast"

Notes

Bronze sculptures in France 1868 sculptures Sculptures of the Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon Statues in France Skulls in art {{France-sculpture-stub