Science Art: Chimpanzee, from Brehm’s Tierleben, 1860s.
Entered By: grant on July 15, 2012
No Observations
Here’s an ape with plenty of character – plenty of, dare I think it, soul.
This is not the first image from Brehm’s Tierleben (or “Brehm’s Life of Animals”) to have been featured on these pages. But it may be the one with the most thoughtful quality. This chimpanzee was alive before the Civil War broke out – before the Transcontinental Railway was completed – before the telephone was invented. And yet I can look at this face and think, “I know how you feel. I know what you’re thinking. I’ve thought the same thing, too.”
I’m sure Alfred “Pharaoh” Brehm knew what I’m talking about.
Tags: primatology
