Skitser af bavianer. Notat 1900 - 1905

Niels Larsen Stevns sketched these baboons, likely with graphite on paper, capturing their forms in simple lines. Throughout history, primates have held symbolic significance, often embodying raw instinct or mimicking human behavior. The baboon, in ancient Egyptian iconography, was associated with Thoth, the god of wisdom and writing, embodying intelligence and communication. Yet, the baboon can also represent the shadow self, a reminder of our primal nature lurking beneath the surface. Observe how the artist captures the hunched posture of one baboon. It evokes a sense of introspection or melancholy. This posture resonates with depictions of the "melancholic" or "thinking" figure throughout Western art, from Dürer’s Melancholia I to Rodin’s Thinker, revealing a lineage of intellectual contemplation. This non-linear, cyclical progression reveals a symbol that has resurfaced, evolved, and taken on new meanings in different historical contexts.