Pierre Brassau burst upon the art world at a Swedish art show in 1964. The critics were nearly unanimous in their glowing reviews.
Newspaper art critic Rolf Anderberg gushed over the paintings of the unknown French artist. He wrote, “Pierre Brassau paints with powerful strokes, but also with clear determination. His brush strokes twist with furious fastidiousness. Pierre is an artist who performs with the delicacy of a ballet dancer.”
Amidst a sea of praise for Brassau’s four paintings, there was only one dissenter who unknowingly hit the nail on the head. “Only an ape could have done this,” said the art critic.
Pierre Brassau’s real identity was a West African chimpanzee named Peter who lived in a Swedish zoo. Brassau was the creation of a tabloid journalist named Åke “Dacke” Axelsson.
Axelsson wanted to see if the art world could tell the difference between modern art and the work of a chimp. He persuaded a local zookeeper to let Peter, the chimp, play with paints. Apparently, Peter ate more paint than he actually painted with, but he did produce a number of paintings that Axelsson sent to the art show.
With the exception of that one critic, the art world was thoroughly fooled. Brassau’s biggest fan, writer Rolf Anderberg, wasn’t deterred, though. Sticking to his guns, he said, it “was still the best painting in the exhibition.”
Peter isn’t the only animal artist to make waves in the art world. In the 1950s, another chimp artist also made a name for himself in England. At the age of 2, Congo the chimp took an interest in painting and produced over 400 works of art. While you might think that the work of a chimp would be a random mess, Congo was said to have a sense of composition, symmetry, balance, and color.
Congo died in 1964 but not before obtaining some success. Pablo Picasso was said to be a fan and had one of Congo’s paintings hanging in his studio. In 2005, three of Congo’s paintings were put up for auction alongside the paintings of Warhol and Renoir. While the Renoir and Warhol works went unsold, Congo’s paintings sold for $26,620.
What do you think? Can animals create art? Click the link to see if you can tell the difference between art made by a human and art made by a chimp.
Slow Speed Video:
Normal Speed Video:
References:
Click here to take the human or chimp quiz.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congo_(chimpanzee)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dead-chimps-art-sells-big/
http://hoaxes.org/archive/permalink/pierre_brassau_monkey_artist/
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/03/the-monkey-artist-hoax/
Pierre Brassau burst upon the art world at a Swedish art show in 1964. The reviews were excellent.
Newspaper writer Rolf Anderberg gushed over the unknown French artist.
There was a sea of praise for Brassau’s four paintings. There was only one person who disagreed. He unknowingly hit the nail on the head. “Only an ape could have done this,” said the art critic.
Pierre Brassau was really a West African chimpanzee named Peter who lived in a Swedish zoo. Brassau was the creation of a tabloid journalist named Åke “Dacke” Axelsson.
Axelsson wanted to see if the art world could tell the difference between modern art and the work of a chimp. He asked a local zookeeper to let Peter, the chimp, play with paints. Peter ate more paint than he actually painted with. He did make some paintings that Axelsson sent to the art show.
Except for that one critic, the art world was fooled. After writer Rolf Anderberg learned the truth, he still loved the chimp’s art. Sticking to his guns, he said, it “was still the best painting in the exhibition.”
Peter isn’t the only animal artist to make waves in the art world. In the 1950s, another chimp artist also made a name for himself in England. At the age of 2, Congo the chimp painted over 400 works of art. Congo was said to have a sense of composition, balance, and color.
Congo died in 1964 but not before becoming a success. Pablo Picasso was a fan and had one of Congo’s paintings. In 2005, three of Congo’s paintings were put up for auction next to the paintings of Warhol and Renoir. While the Renoir and Warhol works went unsold, Congo’s paintings sold for $26,620.
What do you think? Can animals create art? Click the link to see if you can tell the difference between art made by a human and art made by a chimp.
Slow Speed Video:
Normal Speed Video:
References:
Click here to take the human or chimp quiz.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congo_(chimpanzee)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dead-chimps-art-sells-big/
http://hoaxes.org/archive/permalink/pierre_brassau_monkey_artist/
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/03/the-monkey-artist-hoax/
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