In my personal opinion and interpretation of the paintings, I sense a wistfulness to the 'scholar', the single figure created by the unification of both the 'astronomer' and 'geographer'. Held in the same place by his academic studies of charts and books, he faces out of the window to an exterior world of the practical application of his knowledge. However, he remains in his room to study and accumulate knowledge; cognisant of the world outside, but apart from it.
An approach of a 'scholar separated from the world and devoted to his studies' led to ideas of such imprisoned scholars as Galileo and, through the religious connections in that scholar's life, to ideas of the ascetic life of study as practiced by certain brotherhoods of monks. Ultimately, the following narrative was settled upon as the basis of the project;
"A scholar is contained in a mountaintop cell, content in his own thoughts. Wistfulness for the unattainable, unapproachable world outside is sated somewhat by his desire for academic study, and his ability to live an ascetic life."
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