Publication details
Ein wahrer Homunkulus in der Tierwelt. Gabriel von Max´ Affenbilder
| Title in English | The Real Homunculus in the Animal World. The Monkey Paintings by Gabriel von Max |
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| Authors | |
| Year of publication | 2010 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Umění : časopis Ústavu dějin umění |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | http://www.umeni-art.cz/ |
| Field | Art, architecture, cultural heritage |
| Keywords | Gabriel von Max; monkey paintings; the painting of the 19th century; the Munich school |
| Description | The Czech born, Munich based artist Gabriel von Max (1840-1915) was called the "monkey painter" by the contemporary press. The so called monkey genre was an important part of his vast body of work. This article combines several levels of interpretation. Drawing on written memoirs it outlines the artist_s biography, which reveals how Max, who kept monkeys himself, had a growing affinity with primates. Max_s unique position in the art scene stems from the fact that he was both a painter and an amateur naturalist, so the article also examines how his orientation in the natural sciences manifested itself in his art work. Attention is also focused on the reception to his monkey paintings, their connection to other themes in his work, and a comparison with works by other artists (e.g. A. G. Decamps, P. Meyerheim, F. Kupka). Max_s monkey pictures have a semantic complexity, because they can be "read" as caricatures, ironic, evolutionist, realistic documentation, fantasy, and all of that at the same time. |
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