Apen en katten bij een barbier 1720 - 1767

This engraving, titled "Apes and Cats at a Barber's Shop", was created by Leonard Schenk. It depicts a scene that is both humorous and unsettling: monkeys and cats enact a visit to a barber shop. Animals acting as humans was a popular form of social satire in the 17th and 18th centuries, often used to critique human follies. In this case, the artist uses the bodies of animals to mock human society. But this work raises deeper questions about the intersections of species, class, and power. The animals are stand-ins for human behavior. We might ask, how do these depictions reinforce or challenge existing social hierarchies? Is the artist merely poking fun, or is there a more profound commentary on the state of humanity? The emotional impact of the artwork comes from the tension between the familiar setting of a barber shop and the absurd presence of animals performing human tasks. It reflects the human tendency to see ourselves in other species.