Artwork
Monkeys smoking and drinking
Monkeys smoking and drinking is an oil painting by the Flemish Baroque painting artist David Teniers the Younger. It dates from 1660 and is held in the collection of the Museo del Prado.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
In Flemish art, such depictions of animals mimicking human actions often served as moralizing allegories, criticizing intemperance and the folly of mankind.
David Teniers the Younger's 1660 oil painting presents a scene of monkeys engaged in human vices, specifically smoking and drinking wine. The composition includes a table set with playing cards and a candle, elements that reinforce the theme of frivolous or sinful behavior.
In Flemish art, such depictions of animals mimicking human actions often served as moralizing allegories, criticizing intemperance and the folly of mankind. The presence of wine and cards alongside the act of smoking suggests a commentary on the wastefulness of time and resources through indulgence.
Technique & Style
The work is an oil painting executed on wooden panel. It measures 21 cm in height by 30 cm in width. The composition shows monkeys engaged in human activities such as smoking and drinking, rendered with a loose brushwork and warm tonal palette that emphasizes informal narrative detail over strict realism.
The surface bears the characteristic aging of oil on panel, including fine craquelure and a slightly yellowed varnish, contributing to a weathered yet vivid presentation.
History & Provenance
The painting Monkeys smoking and drinking was created by David Teniers the Younger in 1660 as an oil on panel work. It entered the collection of Ferdinand VII of Spain, who commissioned or acquired the piece, and remains in the Museo del Prado at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez. The artwork measures 30 cm in width and 21 cm in height and depicts wine, a playing card, a table, and a candle alongside the titular monkeys.
The painting Monkeys smoking and drinking by David Teniers the Younger (1660) is housed in the Museo del Prado at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez, where it is recorded in the museum's collection under the accession details associated with Ferdinand VII of Spain's ownership.
The work measures 21 cm in height and 30 cm in width and was created using oil paint on panel.
It has been part of exhibitions at the Museo del Prado, including displays focused on Flemish and Dutch painting.
Exhibition history includes its presentation in the museum's galleries dedicated to 17th-century Spanish royal collections.
Overview
David Teniers the Younger painted this oil work in 1660, now part of the collection at Madrid’s Museo del Prado. The canvas presents a small gathering of monkeys, each dressed in elaborate attire, arranged around a table as if partaking in a convivial evening. The scene combines everyday objects, a candle, a glass, a deck of cards, with the absurdity of animal participants, creating a witty tableau that reflects the artist’s penchant for genre scenes.
Context
In the mid‑17th century, Flemish artists frequently used animal subjects to comment on human behavior, a tradition traceable to earlier Netherlandish works. Teniers’s choice of monkeys, symbols of mimicry, aligns with contemporary allegorical conventions, while the setting of a dimly lit interior echoes the intimate genre interiors popular in Dutch and Flemish art of the period.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
David Teniers the Younger or David Teniers II was a Flemish Baroque painter, printmaker, and artist.
