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Greek, 1872 – c.1963
Monkeys as art critics
oil on canvas
signed & inscribed lower left
54 x 67 cm
73 x 87 cm (with frame)
Provenance
private collection, Greece
NOTES
Elias Atzitiris was born in Smyrna in 1872.
He joined the Munich Academy of Fine Arts in 1893 where he studied under Nikolaos Gysis. Amongst the few surviving works by Atzitiris are copies of famous artists such as Gabirel von Max, Raffaello, Rembrandt, Kaulbach, Rieder amongst others. He exhibited these and other works at the large group exhibitions of Glaspalast in Munich. His works can be found in public collections including The National Gallery, Greece.
This “Monkeys as art critics” oil painting is after a painting by Gabriel von Max (1840 - 1915). The original by Gabriel von Max can be found in Neue Pinakothek in Munich. Monkeys as art critics was exhibited by Gabriel von Max at the first Munich Annual Exhibition which opened in July 1889. Depicted are 13 apes of varying shapes and sizes, each with their own individual character, who are examining a painting. Only the painting’s golden frame and part of the reverse is visible to the viewer. On the reverse the viewer can also distinguish a label that identifies the concealed image as “Tristan and Isolde” and lists its selling price as 100,000 Deutsche marks.
The work has been traditionally interpreted either as an expression of the artist's well-known fascination with Darwinian philosophy or as a satirical attack on art critics. The painting was among the most cynical at the exhibition and ultimately the picture must be read as a satire on the jurors. A tremendous popular success at the exhibition, the work was ironically awarded a second-class gold medal.
Elias Atzitiris was born in Smyrna in 1872.
He joined the Munich Academy of Fine Arts in 1893 where he studied under Nikolaos Gysis. Amongst the few surviving works by Atzitiris are copies of famous artists such as Gabirel von Max, Raffaello, Rembrandt, Kaulbach, Rieder amongst others. He exhibited these and other works at the large group exhibitions of Glaspalast in Munich. His works can be found in public collections including The National Gallery, Greece.
This “Monkeys as art critics” oil painting is after a painting by Gabriel von Max (1840 - 1915). The original by Gabriel von Max can be found in Neue Pinakothek in Munich. Monkeys as art critics was exhibited by Gabriel von Max at the first Munich Annual Exhibition which opened in July 1889. Depicted are 13 apes of varying shapes and sizes, each with their own individual character, who are examining a painting. Only the painting’s golden frame and part of the reverse is visible to the viewer. On the reverse the viewer can also distinguish a label that identifies the concealed image as “Tristan and Isolde” and lists its selling price as 100,000 Deutsche marks.
The work has been traditionally interpreted either as an expression of the artist's well-known fascination with Darwinian philosophy or as a satirical attack on art critics. The painting was among the most cynical at the exhibition and ultimately the picture must be read as a satire on the jurors. A tremendous popular success at the exhibition, the work was ironically awarded a second-class gold medal.
