Banderol met titel vastgehouden door twee apen c. 1720 - 1784

This undated print by Leonard Schenk presents a fascinating interplay between text and image. Two horizontal bands dominate the composition, each bearing text in monumental, block-like letters. Above, we see 'IN DE WERELT' and below 'TAAPENSPEL'. These are Dutch words for "in the world" and "monkey game" or "foolery". Note how the rigid structure of the lettering is playfully disrupted by the presence of monkeys at either end of the bands. These simian figures, rendered with delicate lines, seem to both support and subvert the authority of the written word. The linear precision of the engraving technique emphasizes the contrast between the rational order of language and the whimsical, unpredictable nature of these creatures. Schenk invites us to reflect on the inherent instability of meaning. The monkeys—symbols of imitation and folly—suggest that language itself can be a form of play, a game of appearances where meaning is never entirely fixed. This tension between order and chaos, between the symbolic and the real, underscores the print's enduring relevance.