On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P01806
- Author
- Teniers, David (Flemish)
- Title
- The Monkey Sculptor
- Chronology
- Ca. 1660
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 23 cm x 32 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- Yes
- Entrance
- COLECCION REAL
- Procedence
- Royal Collection
A monkey dressed as a sculptor
works in his studio, making a
statue of a satyr while another
helps him and a third, dressed in
elegant clothes, watches his work
attentively. Other works by the
artist are visible in the
background, including the tomb of
another simian.
This work is paired with The Monkey
Painter (P1805) and both offer
Tenier's critical vision of merely
imitative artistic activity. As an
irrational animal, monkeys were
considered incapable of doing
anything other than copying and
thus symbolized mediocre artists.
The notable personage alludes to
the false connoisseur of art. The
tomb in which a monkey lies, in a
meditative posture, alludes to
human stupidity and the pedantic
illustration of the transcendence
of death in certain artworks.
This work was acquired by Queen
Isabel Farnesio between 1759 and
1766.
Location on the map
