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Christophe Huet

Monkey Preaching to Turkeys

1750–1800
Gouache

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In the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland · as of July 2026

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FROM THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART’S CATALOG

This work belongs to a genre of imagery called singerie , which depicts monkeys dressed in human clothes parodying the actions of people. Here, a monkey preaches to a flock of turkeys from a wicker basket pulpit hanging from a tree. The turkeys, interpreted as symbols of foolishness, are deceived by the cunning primate in the disguise of a monk’s habit.

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