Orangutan 

François Pompon created this captivating sculpture of an Orangutan. At first glance, the smooth contours and simplified form draw us into the animal's gaze, laden with the weight of its contemplation. In the ancient world, primates held a symbolic mirror to humanity, often embodying both wisdom and base instinct. We can trace echoes of this duality from ancient Egyptian baboon deities to Renaissance allegories of human folly. The Orangutan's hands resting on its head—a gesture seen in countless artistic expressions—speaks to a universal posture of introspection. This gesture transcends time, appearing in depictions of melancholy from Dürer's Melancholia I to Rodin's Thinker, each reiteration charging the pose with new layers of meaning. Through Pompon's sculpture, we are invited to reflect on humanity’s relationship with nature, and how this relationship is passed through time, surfacing in unpredictable forms.