Affe mit Schädel
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The ''Affe mit Schädel'' ("Ape with skull") is a famous work by the late-19th-century German sculptor
Hugo Rheinhold Wolfgang Hugo Rheinhold (26 March 1853 – 2 October 1900) was a German sculptor best known for his '' Affe mit Schädel'' ("Ape with Skull"). His surname is often misspelled "Reinhold". Life Hugo Rheinhold was born in Oberlahnstein, Prussi ...
. The
statuette A figurine (a diminutive form of the word ''figure'') or statuette is a small, three-dimensional sculpture that represents a human, deity or animal, or, in practice, a pair or small group of them. Figurines have been made in many media, with cl ...
is otherwise known as the ''Affe, einen Schädel betrachtend'' ("Monkey viewing or contemplating a skull"). It was first exhibited in 1893 at the ''Große Berliner Kunstaustellung'' (Great Berlin Art Exhibition).


Description

A
common chimpanzee The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of Hominidae, great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close r ...
(''
Pan troglodytes The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of Hominidae, great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close r ...
'') is sitting atop a pile of books and manuscripts. The subject is holding in its right hand a human skull, echoing the scene in
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's ''
Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
'' where the Prince of Denmark mourns Yorick ("Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him…"). The chimpanzee cradles its chin with a hand in a contemplative posture. Sitting with its left leg supporting the right, the right leg holds the calipers in its foot. A spine of one of the closed books reads " Darwin". Image:HugoRheinholdApeWithSkull.DarwinMonkey.5.jpg, Detail showing human skull Image:HugoRheinholdApeWithSkull.DarwinMonkey.4.jpg, Detail showing contemplative posture Image:HugoRheinholdApeWithSkull.DarwinMonkey.6.jpg, Detail showing pile of books and "Darwin" spine Image:HugoRheinholdApeWithSkull.InstituteEvolutionaryBiologyUniversityEdinburgh.rip.jpg, Detail showing rip to Bible page The book open at the feet and facing the viewer has a single inscription on the right hand page: "''eritis sicut deus''" from
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
3.5 when the serpent is enticing
Eve Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...
to eat of the
Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil In Judaism and Christianity, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil ( he, עֵץ הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע, ʿêṣ had-daʿaṯ ṭōḇ wā-rāʿ, label=Tiberian Hebrew, ) is one of two specific trees in the story of the Garden ...
in the
Garden of Eden In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden ( he, גַּן־עֵדֶן, ) or Garden of God (, and גַן־אֱלֹהִים ''gan-Elohim''), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the Bible, biblical paradise described in Book of Genesis, Genes ...
against the Lord's command, promising "And ye shall be as God nowing good and evil), however the second half of this quote is missing, ripped from the lower half of the page.


Motivation

What inspired Rheinhold in making his sculpture is unknown, although it has obvious parallels with
Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...
’s ''
The Thinker ''The Thinker'' (french: Le Penseur) is a bronze sculpture by Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled tradi ...
''. It is perhaps surprising to discover that while Rodin had developed his statue as early as 1880, it was not cast into bronze and displayed until after the ''Affe mit Schädel'' had debuted.


Interpretation

The excised Biblical quote possibly suggests good and evil cannot be known, or told apart. With the ape's study, the library of books and the caliper instruments, the suggestion is the statue is warning against the application of rationalism in the absence of morality. Furthermore, when a human is depicted holding a skull, it is usually a comment on mortality (see
memento mori ''Memento mori'' (Latin for 'remember that you ave todie'
bereaves Yorick in one instance, but is soon repulsed by this macabre souvenir as it brings him face-to-face with all life's grim destiny. But, for
Hugo Rheinhold Wolfgang Hugo Rheinhold (26 March 1853 – 2 October 1900) was a German sculptor best known for his '' Affe mit Schädel'' ("Ape with Skull"). His surname is often misspelled "Reinhold". Life Hugo Rheinhold was born in Oberlahnstein, Prussi ...
's ape, it is something quite different. The ape is engaged in assessment and measurement (confirmed by the calipers). That we should even consider this level of intelligence in another species is a bold examination of ourselves through eyes that bear witness to the disproportionate leverage historically awarded humankind. Hugo Rheinhold's original inscription "''eritis sicut deus''" (sometimes wrongly "''eritus ….''"), either suggests Darwinian understanding may lead to Frankenstinian abuse of life's essence, or a more inclusive innocence that recognises a place for other advanced life‑forms on our intellectual podium, if only we can just accommodate those guests. The page on which the Book of Genensis quote eritis sicut deus (“You will be like God”) is written is torn with the second part ''Scientes bonum et malum'' ("knowing good from evil") lost. Hugo was sympathetic to Darwinian ideas but familiar with Goethe's Faust, where the same quote appears with a warning on the misuse of man's power of reason, the calipers being symbolic of the scientific method.


Reproduction

While debuting at the ''Große Berliner Kunstaustellung'', the ''Affe mit Schädel'' became noticed by the Gladenbeck foundry (set up by Carl Gustav Hermann Gladenbeck in 1851).Schmetzke, A. (1999/2008)
Hugo Rheinhold ... and his Philosophizing Monkey: Gladenbeck.
Retrieved 1. December 2008.
Purchasing the rights to the statue, the foundry featured it as a bronze in their catalogue, and it became popular through its quirky originality. The 30 cm full-size moulds disappeared with the closure of the Gladenbeck foundry, but Bildgießerei Seiler GmbH obtained the 13 cm Gladenbeck casting mould (Nr. 1194).


Distribution

Gladenbeck editions of the statue are displayed at the Institute of Evolutionary Biology,
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
,
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’s Medico-Chirurgical Society, the
Boston Medical Library The Boston Medical Library (est. 1875) of Boston, Massachusetts, was originally organized to alleviate the problem that had emerged due to the scattered distribution of medical texts throughout the city. It has evolved into the "largest academic ...
and the Medical Library of Queen’s University in
Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...
, and also in
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,
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, Munnekeburen, Oakville,
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, Salem am Bodensee,
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Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
, and famously on
Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...
’s desk in the
Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty, Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of th ...
. One was even salvaged from a World War II
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at the bottom of
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(Austria).Schmetzke, A. (1999/2008)
Sensation am Attersee.
Also Richter & Schmetzke, 2007, p. 83. Retrieved 1. December 2008.


Variations

Two foundries (Seiler in Germany, Powderhall in Scotland) still produce faithfully accurate editions of the statue. These editions differ in size (13cm and 30cm, respectively) and patinas (a light traditional bronze, and a much darker penny bronze, respectively). Other versions less faithful to the original mutate the chimp's pensive contemplation to head‑scratching bewilderment, or sacrifice metallic lustre by substitution of cheaper materials (''e.g.'', clay), and often undermine the sculpture's poise with careless positioning of a plastic skull. Prices currently range from $10 to $4,500. When they do rarely surface in auction or through private sale, Gladenbeck pieces can fetch up to $6,000. Image:Affe mit Schädel profile.jp
''Affe mit Schädel''
br/>2014
''patina'': Penny Bronze Image:HugoRheinholdApeWithSkull.DarwinMonkey.1.jpg, The Darwin Monkey
2008
''patina'': Gunmetal Image:HugoRheinholdApeWithSkull.PowderHallBronzeEdinburgh.jpg, Powder Hall Bronze
2008
''patina'': Imperial Black Image:HugoRheinholdApeWithSkull.BlakemoreUK.jpg, Thomas Blakemore
c. 1990
''patina'': Potash Black Image:HugoRheinholdApeWithSkull.InstituteEvolutionaryBiologyUniversityEdinburgh.jpg, Gladenbeck
c. 1942
''patina'': Classic / antique


Citations


External links

*
The Darwin Monkey Bronze Statue after Hugo Rheinhold



Varieties of Rheinhold's Philosophizing Darwin Monkey

Hugo's Philosophical Ape

Rheinhold, Hugo (The Jewish Encyclopedia)


{{DEFAULTSORT:Affe Mit Schadel German sculpture Figurines Chimpanzees in art Skulls in art Books in art Apes in popular culture Animal sculptures