Apen op een wip en in een boom 1720 - 1767

Leonard Schenk created this print, "Apes on a seesaw and in a tree" sometime around the early 18th century in the Netherlands. Here we see a group of monkeys playing in a natural landscape, but the scene also invites us to reflect on the society that produced it. The Dutch Republic in this era was a major center for commerce and colonialism. Images of monkeys were common, often used to satirize human behavior or to comment on the relationship between Europeans and the people they encountered in their colonial endeavors. The print makes a point of showing the foolishness of the apes, perhaps suggesting something about the natural order of things. To understand it better, we might research popular attitudes towards monkeys at the time, or look into the broader visual culture of Dutch colonialism. This print speaks to the social dynamics of its time, offering a glimpse into how the Dutch understood themselves.