Abraham Teniers - Barbershop with monkeys and cats

''Singerie'' is the name given to a visual arts

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

depicting

monkeys Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes. Thus monkeys, in that sense, co ...

imitating human behavior, often fashionably attired, intended as a diverting sight, using

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...

. The term is derived from the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

word for "Monkey Trick". Though it has a long history, the height of the genre was in the 18th century, in the

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

History

The practice can be traced as far back as Ancient Egypt;

Cyril Aldred Cyril Aldred (19 February 1914 – 23 June 1991) was an English Egyptologist, art historian, and author. Early life Cyril Aldred was born in Fulham, London, the son of Frederick Aldred and Lilian Ethel Underwood, and the sixth of seven childre ...

detected a love of ''singerie'' that he found characteristic of the late

Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt The Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XVIII, alternatively 18th Dynasty or Dynasty 18) is classified as the first dynasty of the New Kingdom of Egypt, the era in which ancient Egypt achieved the peak of its power. The Eighteenth Dynasty ...

; Throughout the medieval period in Europe, monkeys were seen "as a symbol of downgraded humanity", and were used to mimic man and his foibles, often appearing in the margins of illuminated manuscripts. Antoine Watteau 032

Comical scenes with monkeys appearing in human attire and a human environment originated as a pictorial genre in

Flemish painting Flemish painting flourished from the early 15th century until the 17th century, gradually becoming distinct from the painting of the rest of the Low Countries, especially the modern Netherlands. In the early period, up to about 1520, the painti ...

in the 16th century and were further developed in the 17th century. The Flemish engraver Pieter van der Borcht introduced the singerie as an independent theme around 1575 in a series of prints, which are strongly embedded in the artistic tradition of

Pieter Bruegel the Elder Pieter Bruegel (also Brueghel or Breughel) the Elder ( , ; ; – 9 September 1569) was among the most significant artists of Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting, a painter and printmaking, printmaker, known for his landscape art, landscape ...

, whose 1562 Two Monkeys probably started the craze. These prints were widely disseminated and the theme was then picked up by other Flemish artists, in particular by those in Antwerp such as

Frans Francken the Younger Frans Francken the Younger (1581, Antwerp – 6 May 1642, Antwerp) was a Southern Netherlands, Flemish painter and the best-known and most prolific member of the large Francken family of artists.

Jan Brueghel the Elder Jan Brueghel (also Bruegel or Breughel) the Elder ( , ; ; 1568 – 13 January 1625) was a Flemish painting, Flemish painter and Draughtsmanship, draughtsman. He was the younger son of the eminent Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting, Flemish ...

and the Younger,

Sebastiaen Vrancx Sebastiaen Vrancx (; before 22 January 1573 – 19 May 1647) was a Flemish Baroque painter, draughtsman and designer of prints who is mainly known for his battle scenes, a genre that he pioneered in Netherlandish painting. He also created lands ...

and

Jan van Kessel the Elder Jan van Kessel the Elder or Jan van Kessel (I) (baptized 5 April 1626, Antwerp – 17 April 1679, Antwerp) was a Flemish painter active in Antwerp in the mid-17th century. A versatile artist, he practiced in many genres including studies of ...

David Teniers the Younger David Teniers the Younger or David Teniers II (bapt. 15 December 1610 – 25 April 1690) was a Flemish Baroque painter, printmaker, draughtsman, miniaturist painter, staffage painter, copyist and art curator. He was an extremely versatile artist ...

became the principal practitioner of the genre and developed it further with his younger brother

Abraham Teniers Abraham Teniers (1 March 1629 – 26 September 1670) was a Flemish painter and engraver who specialized in genre art, genre paintings of villages, inns and monkey scenes. He was a member of artist family Teniers which came to prominence in the 1 ...

. The two brothers were able to cater to the prevailing taste in the art market and were thus instrumental in spreading the genre outside Flanders. Later in the 17th century artists like

Nicolaes van Verendael Nicolaes is a given name that is spelled Nicolaas in modern Dutch. Notable people * Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem (1620–1683), Dutch Golden Age painter * Nicolaes Boddingius (1605–1669), Dutch schoolmaster, writer and minister * Nicolaes Borre ...

, principally known as a painter of flower

still life A still life (: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, human-m ...

s started to paint "monkey scenes" as well. ''Singeries'' became popular among French artists in the early 18th century. French decorator and designer Jean Berain the Elder included dressed figures of monkeys in many wall decorations, the great royal ''

ébéniste An ''ébéniste'' () is a cabinet-maker, particularly one who works in ebony. The term is a loanword from French and translates to "ebonist". Etymology and ambiguities As opposed to ''ébéniste'', the term ''menuisier'' denotes a woodcarver or ...

André Charles Boulle André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries, as well in Portugal ...

used them in his work and

Watteau Jean-Antoine Watteau (, , ; baptised 10 October 1684died 18 July 1721) Alsavailablevia Oxford Art Online (subscription needed). was a French painter and draughtsman whose brief career spurred the revival of interest in colour and movement, as ...

painted ''The Monkey Sculptor'', a critique of art and artists' habit of "aping" nature. Emmanuel Noterman - The art experts

A complete monkey orchestra, the "Monkey Band" (''Affenkapelle'', "ape orchestra" in German) was produced in

Meissen porcelain Meissen porcelain or Meissen china was the first Europe, European hard-paste porcelain. Early experiments were done in 1708 by Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus. After his death that October, Johann Friedrich Böttger continued von Tschirnhaus's ...

, and copied by

Chelsea porcelain Chelsea porcelain is the porcelain made by the Chelsea porcelain manufactory, the first important porcelain manufactory in England, established around 1743–45, and operating independently until 1770, when it was merged with Derby porcelain. ...

and other factories. In France the most famous such rococo decor are Christophe Huet's ''Grande Singerie'' and ''Petite Singerie'' decors at the

Château de Chantilly The Château de Chantilly () is a historic French château located in the town of Chantilly, Oise, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Paris. The site comprises two attached buildings: the Petit Château, built around 1560 for Anne de Montmore ...

, the basis for the Meissen figures. In England the French painter Andieu de Clermont is also known for his ''singeries'': the most famous decorates the ceiling of the Monkey Room at Monkey Island Hotel, located on

Monkey Island ''Monkey Island'' is a series of adventure games. The first four games were produced and published by LucasArts, earlier known as Lucasfilm Games. The fifth was developed by Telltale Games with LucasArts, while the sixth was developed by Terribl ...

in Bray-on-Thames,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The Grade I listed buildings, which have housed guests since 1840 were built in the 1740s by

Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough, (22 November 170620 October 1758), styled as The Honourable Charles Spencer between 1706 and 1729 and as the Earl of Sunderland between 1729 and 1733, was a British Army officer, politician and peer wh ...

. Singeries regained popularity in the 19th century and artists then successful in this genre included

Zacharie Noterman Zacharie Noterman or Zacharias Notermann (1820 in Ghent – 1890 in Paris) was a Belgians, Belgian painter and printmaker who specialized in scenes with monkeys engaging in human activities (the so-called ''singeries''), as well as in paintings o ...

Emmanuel Noterman Emmanuel Noterman (April 1808 – 14 May 1863) was a Belgians, Belgian painter and printmaker known for his genre scenes, in particular his scenes with monkeys engaging in human activities (the so-called ''singeries''), as well as for his paintin ...

, Charles Verlat, Sir Edwin

Henry Landseer Sir Edwin Henry Landseer (7 March 1802 – 1 October 1873) was an English painter and sculptor, well known for his paintings of animals – particularly horses, dogs, and stags. His best-known work is the lion sculptures at the base of Nelso ...

, Edmund Bristow,

Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps (March 3, 1803August 22, 1860) was a French painter noted for his Orientalist works. Life Decamps was born in Paris. In his youth he travelled in the East, and reproduced Oriental life and scenery with a bold fidelity to ...

, and

Paul Friedrich Meyerheim Paul Friedrich Meyerheim (13 July 1842 – 14 September 1915) was a German painter and graphic artist. He did portraits and landscapes, but is best known as a painter of animals. Life Paul Friedrich Meyerheim was born in Berlin on 13 July ...

.Zacharias Noterman, ''Les Plaideurs'' ('The Litigants')
at Art of the Print

Notes

References

External links

"The Singerie: Monkeys acting as Humans in Art"
Public Domain Review article with many images
Depictions of monkeys in medieval manuscripts
Pinterest {{Authority control Visual arts genres Monkeys in popular culture Netherlandish art Monkeys in art