Singerie is the name given to a visual arts genre depicting monkeys imitating human behavior, often fashionably attired, intended as a diverting sight, using satire. 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.
The practice can be traced as far back as Ancient Egypt; Cyril Aldred detected a love of singerie that he found characteristic of the late Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt; [1] Throughout the medieval period in Europe, monkeys were seen "as a symbol of downgraded humanity", [2] and were used to mimic man and his foibles, often appearing in the margins of illuminated manuscripts. [3] [4]
Comical scenes with monkeys appearing in human attire and a human environment originated as a pictorial genre in Flemish 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, 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, Jan Brueghel the Elder and the Younger, Sebastiaen Vrancx and Jan van Kessel the Elder. David Teniers the Younger became the principal practitioner of the genre and developed it further with his younger brother Abraham Teniers. 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 lifes started to paint ‘monkey scenes’ as well. [5]
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 André Charles Boulle used them in his work [6] and Watteau painted The Monkey Sculptor, a critique of art and artists' habit of "aping" nature. [7]
A complete monkey orchestra, the "Monkey Band" (Affenkapelle, "ape orchestra" in German) was produced in Meissen porcelain, and copied by Chelsea 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 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 in Bray-on-Thames, England. The Grade I listed buildings, which have housed guests since 1840 were built in the 1740s by Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough.
Singeries regained popularity in the 19th century and artists then successful in this genre included Zacharie Noterman, Emmanuel Noterman, Charles Verlat, Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, Edmund Bristow, Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps, Charles Monginot and Paul Friedrich Meyerheim. [8]
The prayer book written for Charles V. of Austria by his mistress, had, on every page, monkeys mimicking religious ceremonies, in the most incongruous manner
Jan Brueghelthe Elder was a Flemish painter and draughtsman. He was the younger son of the eminent Flemish Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder. A close friend and frequent collaborator with Peter Paul Rubens, the two artists were the leading Flemish painters in the Flemish Baroque painting of the first three decades of the 17th century.
Jan Brueghelthe Younger was a Flemish Baroque painter. He was the son of Jan Brueghel the Elder, and grandson of Pieter Bruegel the Elder, both prominent painters who contributed respectively to the development of Renaissance and Baroque painting in the Habsburg Netherlands. Taking over his father's workshop at an early age, he largely painted the same subjects as his father in a style which was similar to that of his father. He gradually was able to break away from his father's style by developing a broader, more painterly, and less structured manner of painting. He regularly collaborated with leading Flemish painters of his time.
Genre art is the pictorial representation in any of various media of scenes or events from everyday life, such as markets, domestic settings, interiors, parties, inn scenes, work, and street scenes. Such representations may be realistic, imagined, or romanticized by the artist. Some variations of the term genre art specify the medium or type of visual work, as in genre painting, genre prints, genre photographs, and so on.
David Teniers the Younger or David Teniers II was a Flemish Baroque painter, printmaker, draughtsman, miniaturist painter, staffage painter, copyist and art curator. He was an extremely versatile artist known for his prolific output. He was an innovator in a wide range of genres such as history painting, genre painting, landscape painting, portrait and still life. He is now best remembered as the leading Flemish genre painter of his day. Teniers is particularly known for developing the peasant genre, the tavern scene, pictures of collections and scenes with alchemists and physicians.
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 brought this type of porcelain to the market, financed by Augustus the Strong, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony. The production of porcelain in the royal factory at Meissen, near Dresden, started in 1710 and attracted artists and artisans to establish, arguably, the most famous porcelain manufacturer known throughout the world. Its signature logo, the crossed swords, was introduced in 1720 to protect its production; the mark of the swords is reportedly one of the oldest trademarks in existence.
Nicolaes van Verendael or Nicolaes van Veerendael was a Flemish painter active in Antwerp who is mainly known for his flower paintings and vanitas still lifes. He was a frequent collaborator of other Antwerp artists to whose compositions he added the still life elements. He also painted a number of singeries, i.e., scenes with monkeys dressed and acting as humans.
Genre painting, a form of genre art, depicts aspects of everyday life by portraying ordinary people engaged in common activities. One common definition of a genre scene is that it shows figures to whom no identity can be attached either individually or collectively, thus distinguishing it from history paintings and portraits. A work would often be considered as a genre work even if it could be shown that the artist had used a known person—a member of his family, say—as a model. In this case it would depend on whether the work was likely to have been intended by the artist to be perceived as a portrait—sometimes a subjective question. The depictions can be realistic, imagined, or romanticized by the artist. Because of their familiar and frequently sentimental subject matter, genre paintings have often proven popular with the bourgeoisie, or middle class.
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 insects, floral still lifes, marines, river landscapes, paradise landscapes, allegorical compositions, scenes with animals and genre scenes. A scion of the Brueghel family many of his subjects took inspiration of the work of his grandfather Jan Brueghel the Elder as well as from the earlier generation of Flemish painters such as Daniel Seghers, Joris Hoefnagel and Frans Snyders. Van Kessel's works were highly prized by his contemporaries and were collected by skilled artisans, wealthy merchants, nobles and foreign luminaries throughout Europe.
Frans Francken the Younger was a Flemish painter and the best-known and most prolific member of the large Francken family of artists. He painted large altarpieces for churches as well as smaller historical, mythological and allegorical scenes. His depictions of collectors' cabinets established a popular new genre of art in the era. Francken often collaborated with other artists, adding figures and narrative elements to scenes created by specialists in landscape, architectural and floral still life paintings.
Vincent de Vos or Joost Vincent de Vos (1829–1875) was a Belgian artist who specialized in the painting of scenes with animals, in particular, monkeys, dogs and cats. He is particularly known for his singeries, i.e. paintings of monkeys imitating human behavior intended as a diverting satire of human behaviour.
Alexander van Bredael was a Flemish painter known for Italianate landscapes and genre scenes of fairs, cattle markets and villages. He was a prominent member of the Antwerp artistic family van Bredael.
Wilhelm Schubert van Ehrenberg or Willem Schubart van Ehrenberg (also: Wilhem Schubert von Ehrenberg or Wilhem Schubert van Ehrenberg was a Flemish painter mainly active in Antwerp who specialized in architectural paintings including of real and imaginary church interiors, Renaissance palaces and picture galleries.
Hieronymus Francken the Younger or Hieronymus II was a Flemish painter and one of the most prominent members of the large Francken family of artists. Along with his brother Frans Francken II he played an important role in the development of new genres in Flemish art in the early 17th century. He was a prolific artist with a wide range who painted religious scenes, allegorical subjects, portraits, fruit pieces, genre scenes, architectural paintings and art galleries.
Mattheus van Helmont was a Flemish painter specialized in genre scenes of interiors and village scenes. His style and subject matter were influenced by the work of David Teniers the Younger and Adriaen Brouwer. His preferred subjects were peasant feasts, wedding celebrations, drinkers and alchemists. He developed his own personal style towards the final phase of his career. He spent most of his active life in Antwerp but moved to Brussels later.
The Fondation Custodia is an art collection in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, focusing on European Old Master works, including works by Dutch, Flemish, Italian and French artists. It was founded in 1947 by the collector and art historian Frits Lugt and his wife Jacoba Lugt-Klever to house their collection of drawings, prints and paintings. Located at 121 rue de Lille, it occupies the Hôtel Turgot, an 18th-century mansion.
Pieter van der Borcht (I) or Peter van der Borcht (c. 1530–1608) was a Flemish Renaissance painter, draughtsman and etcher. He is regarded as one of the most gifted botanical painters of the 16th century. Pieter van der Borcht the Elder also introduced new themes, such as the "monkey scene" (also called singerie) into Northern art.
Abraham Teniers 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. He was also active as a publisher.
Zacharie Noterman or Zacharias Notermann was a Belgian painter and printmaker who specialized in scenes with monkeys engaging in human activities, as well as in paintings of dogs. He also produced some scenes of traveling circuses.
Emmanuel Noterman was a Belgian painter and printmaker known for his genre scenes, in particular his scenes with monkeys engaging in human activities, as well as for his paintings of dogs.
The Brueghel family, also spelled Bruegel or Breughel, is an extended family of Dutch and Flemish painters which played a major role in the development of the art in Brabant and Flanders throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. Due to the organisation in guilds and training being done with established painters and not in schools or academies, painters often passed on the knowledge from father to son, and there are many examples of Flemish painting families spanning two or more generations, e.g. the Francken family, which had at least ten painters spanning four generations. The Brueghel family produced the largest number of major painters of all Flemish families.
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