Abraham Teniers - Barbershop with monkeys and cats

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

genre Genre () is any form or type 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 for ...

depicting

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

imitating human behavior, often fashionably attired, intended as a diverting sight, always with a gentle cast of mild

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 shaming ...

. The term is derived from the French word for "Monkey Trick". Though it has a long history, the height of the genre was in the 18th century, in the

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

History

The practise 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; 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 painting ...

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 the most significant artist of Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting, a painter and printmaker, known for his landscapes and peasant scenes (so-called genr ...

, whose 1562

Two Monkeys ''Two Monkeys'' is an album by the punk rock band Cock Sparrer, released in 1997. It was initially released in Germany. Critical reception AllMusic wrote: "Pick up the original as a collector's item, but save your ears for the 2009 Captain Oi ...

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 in Antwerp, 1581 – 6 May 1642, in Antwerp) was a Flemish painter who created altarpieces and furniture panels and gained his reputation chiefly through his small and delicate cabinet pictures with historical, m ...

Jan Brueghel the Elder Jan Brueghel (also Bruegel or Breughel) the Elder (, ; ; 1568 – 13 January 1625) was a Flemish painter and draughtsman. He was the son of the eminent Flemish Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder. A close friend and frequent collabora ...

and the Younger,

Sebastiaen Vrancx Sebastiaen Vrancx, Sebastiaan Vrancx or Sebastian Vranckx (; 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 ...

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 practised in many genres including studies of i ...

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 arti ...

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 paintings of villages, inns and monkey scenes. He was a member of artist family Teniers which came to prominence in the 17th century. ...

. 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, principally known as a painter of flower

still life A still life (plural: 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, 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 ''Ébéniste'' () is a loanword (from French) for a cabinet-maker, particularly one who works in ebony. Etymology and ambiguities As opposed to ''ébéniste'', the term ''menuisier'' denotes a woodcarver or chairmaker in French. The English equiva ...

'' André Charles Boulle used them in his work and

Watteau Jean-Antoine Watteau (, , ; baptised October 10, 1684died July 18, 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 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 work and ...

, 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 Montmor ...

, 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 in the series were produced and published by LucasArts, earlier known as Lucasfilm Games. The fifth installment of the franchise was developed by Telltale Games in collabor ...

in Bray-on-Thames,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. 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 soldier, nobleman, and politician fr ...

. 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 Belgian painter and printmaker who specialized in scenes with monkeys engaging in human activities (the so-called ''singeries''), as well as in paintings of dogs.

, Emmanuel Noterman, Charles Verlat, Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, 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 ...

, Charles Monginot 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

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 Netherlandish art Monkeys in art