Cartouche met aap en jachtbuit Possibly 1757

Paul Angier created this print, "Cartouche met aap en jachtbuit," in 1787. It exemplifies the visual culture of Georgian England. The image is an advertisement for a book of hunting trophies, intended for interior decoration. Consider the layers of social meaning here. Hunting was an aristocratic pastime, and its imagery was used to signal status. Meanwhile, the book itself suggests a rising middle class, eager to imitate aristocratic taste. The monkey, a common motif in art of this period, might symbolize the folly of such social climbing. Prints like this circulated widely, shaping aesthetic values and reinforcing social hierarchies. Historians consult trade directories, inventories, and other archival sources to reconstruct this complex visual world. The meaning of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context.