Aap 1828

Eugène Verboeckhoven made this etching of a monkey sometime in the 19th century. Etchings like this were often compiled into books called ‘animaliars’. These books were studies of animal anatomy and posture. In the nineteenth century, new scientific interest in animals grew alongside burgeoning colonial expansion. Natural history museums were founded, and the study of animals became entwined with the justification of European power. Verboeckhoven here presents a clear, unadorned view of the monkey. The animal is seen in profile, sitting on a branch. Its tail hangs down in a coil. The monkey is presented here like a specimen, an object of scientific curiosity rather than an animal with its own agency. To understand this work better, one might consult colonial records, the publications of natural history museums, and the artist’s other prints and paintings. Art like this must be understood in its full social and institutional context.