Statue of a man reaching for a goblet

In the peninsula, in the ruins of an old building, there is a statue of a man reaching for a goblet.



= Interpretations =

Admitted interpretation
For most people, this statue works in a similar way than the statue of a juggler in town, as both statues represent something different than their shadows. For the man reaching for a goblet, a common interpretation is that the statue cannot reach the goblet, but its shadow succeeds in doing so. In addition, the goblet is often considered to be The Grail, which seems to be confirmed by the filename of the mesh of the statue:.

The athlete interpretation
Originally presented here, this interpretation takes more details into account to suggest another possible meaning for the shadow. Both interpretations are actually compatible.



If you look carefully, the shadow of the statue is framed by the shadow of the display case. And this shadow is perfectly rectangular. If you look at the display case, you will notice it lacks a metal bar on the side near the opening on the wall. This bar has certainly be removed so that the shadow of the display case is a rectangle.

The right way to interpret that scene might then be to consider that the shadow of the display case is the frame of a picture. And in that picture there is a man. And that man seems to be an athlete running toward the camera to catch or throw a ball. Notice the following elements:


 * the shadow of the goblet's foot: it is not clear if it is a part of the goblet or if it is the shadow of the guy's finger.


 * the left hand of the guy (the hand that is NOT close to the goblet): it is open and tense, in a way that is very unnatural for a guy trying to reach something, but very natural for an athlete running.


 * the shadow of the legs: the left leg appears slightly raised toward the left, and the right leg seems to be raised backward, as if the guy was running. These two effects are the consequences of both the statue having a knee on the floor, and the statue wearing a jacket that makes the shadow of its thighs wider. And this alone could explain why the statue has a knee on the floor, as it is totally stupid for somebody trying to reach the goblet to not stand up. Also, other occurrences of this scene such as in the Monastery show a man with both knees on the ground.



Also, the three "odd" display cases could represent an Olympic podium. So maybe it's an athlete reaching for the gold medal? This interpretation would be coherent with the common interpretation of the goblet being the grail, something dreamed about but unreachable.

The mockery interpretation
In this interpretation, the display cases and the goblet have been added after the statue has been installed there, to make fun of the tragic scene it depicts. The same interpretation can be made of the statue of a juggler in town, where the stones on the ground could have been added after the statue, to change its meaning.