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The ''Affe mit Schädel'' ("Ape with skull") is a famous work by the late-19th-century German sculptor Hugo Rheinhold. 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 cla ...
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 simply known as the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forests and savannahs of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed one. When its close relative the ...
('' Pan troglodytes'') 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 ( 23 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 natio ...
's ''
Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
'' 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 3.5 when the serpent is enticing
Eve Eve 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 universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop through oral traditions and there ...
to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the
Garden of Eden In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden (; ; ) or Garden of God ( and ), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the biblical paradise described in Genesis 2–3 and Ezekiel 28 and 31.. The location of Eden is described in the Book of Ge ...
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 u ...
’s ''
The Thinker ''The Thinker'' (), by Auguste Rodin, is a bronze sculpture depicting a Heroic nudity, nude male figure of heroic size, seated on a large rock, leaning forward, right elbow placed upon the left thigh, back of the right hand supporting the chin ...
''. 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 a 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 (Latin for "remember (that you have) to die")
) and the inevitability of death; famously,
Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
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'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 (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
,
Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
’s Medico-Chirurgical Society, the Boston Medical Library and the Medical Library of Queen’s University in
Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...
, and also in
Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...
,
Cottbus Cottbus () or (;) is a university city and the second-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after the state capital, Potsdam. With around 100,000 inhabitants, Cottbus is the most populous city in Lusatia. Cottbus lies in the Sorbian ...
,
Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...
, Kerikeri, Munnekeburen, Oakville,
Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...
,
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
, Salem am Bodensee, Stevens Point,
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
, and famously on
Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
’s desk in the
Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin (fortification), Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Mosco ...
. One was even salvaged from a World War II Junkers Ju 88 at the bottom of Lake Attersee (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 1893 sculptures German sculpture Figurines Chimpanzees in art Skulls in art Sculptures of books Works about apes Sculptures of mammals