Description
These images belong to the long-standing artistic tradition of the singerie — this term from the French singe, meaning monkey — in which monkeys are depicted in human behavior, often as a parody. The genre emerged in the 16th century, with Flemish artists such as Pieter van der Borcht and Frans Francken, continuing into the 17th century in the works of Jan Brueghel the Elder, David Teniers the Younger and Abraham Teniers. A particular popular subject in continental Europe included a monkey as a painter to parody the pomposity of artists and the art market. In the second half of the 19th century, the monkey as human regained momentum in the wake of the publication of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species (1859). Darwin’s theory that humans descended from primates gained traction, and the associated controversy spurring an uptick in using monkeys as a visual device for satirizing human pretensions and folly and to parody social hierarchies, human vanity, and ritual. Monkeys dressed as and behaving like humans has continued to be a popular subject in artworks, notably in some of the paintings of American artist Walton Ford.
E. F. McCabe was a printmaker who specialized in line engravings, often after drawings by other artists. He is known for his work on prints of various university buildings and other historical sites, frequently in collaboration with R.B. Harraden. His work can be found in collections like the Wellcome Collection, National Galleries of Scotland, and the National Trust Collections, among others..
Condition: Generally good with the usual light toning, handlng, soft creases. Trimmed to image except title area.
References:
“The Singerie Monkeys Acting as Humans in Art.” Public Domain Review. https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/the-singerie-monkeys-acting-as-humans-in-art/. (6 June 2025).
