Art is the Solution

The Monkey Painter Source: Musée du Louvre Monkeys are always funny, right? To celebrate April Fool’s Day—the day devoted to humor—I want to share Jean-Baptiste Chardin’s The Monkey Painter , one of the most famous and entertaining examples of the singerie style. As the name suggests (singerie is derived from the French word for monkey), the singerie style is primarily characterized by depictions of monkeys engaged in human behaviors. Although this style dates back to the time of the ancient Egyptians, the style became particularly popular in Europe starting in the sixteenth century and lasting into the early eighteenth century. During this time, singerie was all the rage, with wealthy individuals amassing collections of singerie paintings and sculptures. The style was popular primarily because the paintings were humorous and entertaining, but many were also well known as satirical works of art that offered a commentary on contemporary life. Although in modern times most people tend...