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Monkey with a Skull

Monkey with a Skull is a 30 cm, all-around bronze sculpture by the German sculptor Hugo Rheinhold. It was created as the final work of his sculpture studies in 1892 and became his best-known work. The sculpture was first shown in 1893 at the Great Berlin Art Exhibition. Its composition includes a chimpanzee, a stack of books, a drawing compass, a Bible quotation, and a skull, elements that have led to interpretations linking it to science, Darwinism, religion, and the conflict between research and faith.

Bronze sculpture of a chimpanzee holding a human skull while seated on books, including one labeled Darwin.
Hugo Rheinhold’s Monkey with a Skull shown as a bronze sculpture of a chimpanzee seated on books and holding a skull.
2008 © Derry, J.F. · CC BY-SA 4.0
Monkey with a Skull sculpture showing a seated primate holding and gazing at a human skull
Hugo Rheinhold\'s Monkey with a Skull sculpture, showing a contemplative primate seated with a human skull.
2006 © · CC BY-SA 3.0
Close-up of the Monkey with a Skull bronze sculpture showing a contemplative primate in profile.
A close-up of Monkey with a Skull, a bronze sculpture depicting a thoughtful primate in profile.
2008 © · CC BY-SA 3.0
Close-up of Hugo Rheinhold’s Ape With Skull sculpture showing a stack of books with DARWIN on the spine.
A close-up of Hugo Rheinhold’s Ape With Skull shows the stack of books, including one labeled Darwin.
2008 © · CC BY-SA 3.0
Close-up of the Monkey with a Skull sculpture showing the raised words \
Close-up detail of Monkey with a Skull, showing the raised inscription on the metallic surface.
2008 © · CC BY-SA 3.0

Identification

TitleAffe mit Schädel
Alternative titleAffe, einen Schädel betrachtend
English alternative titleMonkey Contemplating a Skull
TypeBronze statuette
English titleMonkey with Skull

Historical context

DateLate 19th century

Creator

ArtistHugo Rheinhold
Artist nationalityGerman
Artist descriptionLate-19th-century German sculptor

Discovery and provenance

Foundry founderCarl Gustav Hermann Gladenbeck
Foundry founding year1851
Foundry that acquired reproduction rightsHermann Gladenbeck & Sohn / Gladenbeck foundry
First exhibited1893 at the Große Berliner Kunstausstellung (Great Berlin Art Exhibition)

History and restoration

Original mold size30 cm
Original mold fateDisappeared with the closure of the Gladenbeck foundry
Later mold size13 cm
Later mold catalog numberNo. 1194
Later mold sourceBildgießerei Seiler GmbH obtained a mold from Gladenbeck
Reproduction catalog entryReproduced in bronze in the Gladenbeck foundry catalogue
PopularityBecame popular for its originality
Gift to Lenin1922, given by Armand Hammer
Lenin display locationOn Lenin's desk in the Kremlin; still visible there in 1991

Physical characteristics

Additional objectA caliper held in the right foot
PoseSeated on a pile of books and manuscripts, with one hand on its chin in a contemplative pose and the other holding a human skull
SubjectA common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) studying a human skull
Height30 cm
FormThree-dimensional, all-round-view sculpture

Materials

MaterialBronze

Appearance

Books detailA closed book spine is inscribed 'Darwin'
Bible detailAn open Bible is shown toward the viewer with the quotation 'eritis sicut deus'
Bible page conditionThe Bible page is torn in two halves; the lower half with the rest of the quotation is missing

Iconography and meaning

Rodin referenceOften compared with Auguste Rodin's The Thinker, though direct influence is uncertain
Related person interpretationCarlos Bernardo González Pecotche interpreted the sculpture as a critique of a culture that reduces the human being to a skull and degrades him to the point that a monkey can try to understand him
Related literary contextThe Genesis quotation is also associated with Goethe's Faust as a warning about the misuse of reason
Interpretive uncertaintyMotives and models for the sculpture are unclear
Possible intentionHe may have intended an early warning about scientific ethics, but this is uncertain
Artist's viewRheinhold was sympathetic to Darwinian ideas
Interpretive noteThe work has been read as engaging with the theory of evolution and human intellectual dominance over other species
Other referenceRelated comparison with Gabriel von Max's Monkey before Skeleton
Bible quotation meaning'You will be like God, knowing good and evil'
Hamlet referenceThe skull recalls the graveyard scene in Shakespeare's Hamlet and Yorick's skull
Torn quotation interpretationThe missing second half of the quotation may suggest that good and evil cannot be fully distinguished
Bible quotation sourceGenesis 3:5
Symbolism of Bible quotationThe Bible quote symbolizes the Church and its conflicts with science
Symbolism of calipersThe calipers symbolize research and the scientific method, especially craniometry
Symbolism of booksThe books represent accumulated human knowledge
InterpretationOften interpreted as a warning against applying rationalism without morality
ThemesScience, Darwinism, evolution, and conflict with Christianity and the biblical creation story

Significance

NotabilityRheinhold's most famous work