On the Origin of Species

Rob Scholte (in 1988)

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Monkeys imitating human behaviour have been a popular motif in art for centuries, but no one has painted a more beautiful and distinguished monkey than the 18th-century French painter Jean-Siméon Chardin. Scholte has copied Chardin’s painting, but with typical postmodern irony he has the monkey painting a diagram of the evolution from ape to man that biologist Charles Darwin described in his book On the Origin of Species.

Collection book

Order

Specifications

Title	On the Origin of Species
Material and technique	Acrylic paint on canvas
Object type	Painting > Painting > Two-dimensional object > Art object
Location	This object is in storage

Dimensions	Height 150 cm Width 150 cm Depth 2.2 cm
Artists	Kunstenaar: Rob Scholte
Accession number	3186 (MK)
Credits	Aankoop / Purchase: 1988
Department	Modern Art
Acquisition date	1988
Age artist	About 30 years old
Internal exhibitions	De collectie als tijdmachine (2017)
External exhibitions	Ik hou van Holland (2013) Stop Making Sense (2013)
Material	Canvas > Worked fibres > Fibre > Vegetable material > Organic material > Material > Material and technique Acrylic paint > Paint > Artist's material > Material > Material and technique
Object	Painting > Painting > Two-dimensional object > Art object
Geographical origin	The Netherlands > Western Europe > Europe