Art is the Solution

Barbershop with Monkeys and Cats Source: Kunsthistorisches Museum In honor of April fools day, I want to talk about a particularly silly, humorous painting: Dutch painter Abraham Teniers’ Barbershop with Monkeys and Cats . This painting is undeniably whimsical. It depicts monkeys waiting on cats in a seventeenth century barbershop. Throughout the history of Europe, it was common for barbers to act as dentists and sometimes even surgeons in addition to cutting hair. Here, we see cats having their whiskers trimmed and injuries tended in comically complete detail. The painting is a highly accurate depiction of everyday life (notwithstanding the lack of people); the barber’s implements are depicted in meticulous detail and the poses of the cats and monkeys are remarkably human. This sort of piece (one that depicts everyday life) is known as a genre painting. These paintings gained popularity in the early modern period, correlating with the rise of the middle class in Europe. As me...