Pierre Brassau

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Pierre Brassau is a fictional French painter who was invented in 1964 by journalist Åke "Dacke" Axelsson. Works of art that this artist allegedly made after Axelsson and that were exhibited in a gallery were brushwork by the chimpanzee Peter from the Swedish zoo Borås djurpark . This intended journalistic hoax attracted international attention.

The hoax

The Swedish journalist for the Göteborgs-Tidningen newspaper Åke "Dacke" Axelsson came up with the idea of ​​exhibiting a series of paintings of the chimpanzee as that of an unknown French painter. He wanted to find out whether the critics could distinguish between modern art and the work of a monkey. The painter and gallery owner Yngve Funkegård, who supported Axelsson in his project, was also in on the plan.

The real painter was a four year old common chimpanzee named Peter from the Swedish zoo Borås djurpark . Axelsson had persuaded Peter's 17-year-old guard to give the chimpanzee paintbrushes and paints. After Peter had painted several pictures, Axelsson selected the best four and arranged for them to be exhibited at the Christinae Gallery in Gothenburg . Some critics praised the work. Others were negative, and one critic said "only a monkey could have done this". Rolf Anderberg from Göteborgs-Posten wrote: “Brassau paints with strong strokes, but also with clear definition. His brushstrokes are of great value. Pierre is an artist who leads with the delicacy of a ballet dancer. "

After revealing the true origin of the “paintings”, Anderberg was still convinced that they were the best works in this exhibition. A private collector bought one of the works for $ 90 , which is $ 695 in 2016.

In 1969 Peter was moved to Chester Zoo , England .

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Pierre Brassau, Monkey Artist . The Museum of Hoaxes.
  2. ^ Zoo Story . In: Time . February 1964.
  3. ↑ a b avant-garde artist Pierre Brassau . ecclesiastes911.net. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  4. ↑ a b Pierre Lemarquis: Portrait du cerveau en artiste ( fr ). Odile Jacob, Paris 2012, ISBN 978-2-7381-7850-3 , p. 69.
  5. ↑ Pierre Brassau, Monkey Artist . In: Museum of Hoaxes . ( hoaxes.org [accessed December 18, 2017]).
  6. ↑ Pierre Brassau: pintor y mono - La piedra de Sisifo. Retrieved December 18, 2017 (European Spanish).

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