FLORENTINE SCHOOL, 16TH CENTURY

The author of this witty drawing seems to have tried to capture on paper the rapid movements and different attitudes of a monkey kept on a leash. Monkeys, together with other exotic animals, were often imported into Italy during the Renaissance and kept as pets. It appears that the specimen depicted in this drawing was of the family of the Long-tailed Macaques, presumably brought to Italy from North Africa. The inscription at upper right ‘having many times wanted one’ might be an allusion to the desire of the artist to own a pet monkey himself.