ABOUT THE COVER
Frans Snyders (1579–1657). Still Life with Fighting Monkeys (1635) Oil on canvas (74.9 cm × 108 cm). Bequest of John Ringling,
1936, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, the State Art Museum of Florida, a division of Florida State University
The Monkey’s Paw1
Polyxeni Potter
U nexpected consequences fuel the creative mind. The
stuff of adventure in literature, their twists and turns
wreak havoc in the science laboratory and the art studio
well as carcasses at the butcher shop or game fresh from the
hunt. He so loved this part of the work that he abandoned
still lifes altogether to become one of the first animaliers. He
alike. Frans Snyders, old master and founder of Baroque collected specimens of local and exotic animals to observe
still life with animals, understood the unexpected and their behavior and physical characteristics and improve his
its power to surprise and used it to animate his work. A specialized portrayal of them.
thriving arts market in 17th-century Flanders, supported by Snyders was born in Antwerp, center of the arts during
growing prosperity and curiosity about the natural world, the Counter Reformation and playground of such luminaries
provided a rich environment for still life painting, known as the Brueghel family of painters, Peter Paul Rubens,
since antiquity but always relegated low down the ladder and Anthony van Dyck. A student of Pieter Brueghel the
of genres. Younger, Snyders managed to convey the local culture
As he expressed the exuberance of his age in lifeless not just with accuracy but with humor and commentary in
objects made dynamic and relevant, Snyders elevated the compositions later considered best of the genre. He joined
genre. His compositions often contained live animals as the Antwerp painters Guild of St. Luke and, like all serious
artists of his time, visited Italy to study the masters. He was
Author affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, competent and prolific and attracted royal patronage and
Atlanta, Georgia, USA great popularity at home and abroad.
1
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid1709.AC1709 Short story by W.W. Jacobs.
Emerging Infectious Diseases • www.cdc.gov/eid • Vol. 17, No. 9, September 2011 1785
ABOUT THE COVER
Snyders enjoyed the friendship of the best artists of Monkeys were frequent visitors in Flemish paintings
his day rather than being overshadowed by them. Rubens, of this era, often linked to excess and greed, their
whose star eclipsed all those around him, admired his troublesome anthropomorphic features mimicking the
skills and commissioned him to paint animals and still foolish aspects of human behavior. Shameless and unruly,
life elements in many of his works. Once, when a patron they invite symbolism in this scene: the best choreographed
could not tell their work apart, Rubens consented that no arrangements could be instantly ruined by the slightest
one could depict dead animals better than Snyders, though intrusion. This not only in still life painting but anywhere
when it came to live ones, he, Rubens, was the best. Van the law of unintended consequences applies, and no less in
Dyck painted several portraits of Snyders, who was related public health, where each day nature’s basket is toppled by
to the Connelis de Vos family of painters by marriage and unexpected ecologic, social, and biologic paws.
counted among his students and associates Jan Fyt, a still In this issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases alone,
life master in his own right. diverse offerings from around the world attest to the
Animal still life—hunting or market scenes, butcher immense influence of the monkey’s paw, particularly when
stalls, kitchen pantries―were transformed from static another creature inflames an already dangerous situation.
displays to vibrant collections of specimens shown to best Such is the case with influenza. In the past century, three
advantage, colored with symbolism, and injected with pandemics swept the globe in which viruses from birds
humanity and interest. In his more than 50-year career, likely played a role. A new strain, influenza A virus (H5N1),
Snyders developed and refined his skills, leaving behind spread through bird populations across Asia, Africa, and
many paintings and drawings, hundreds of which survive. Europe, infecting domesticated birds, including ducks and
Still Life with Fighting Monkeys, on this month’s cover, chickens, and long-range migratory birds. Its first recorded
contains many of the artist’s finest features. appearance in humans was in Hong Kong in 1997.
Middle-class folks were not allowed to hunt in Each time a new element of uncertainty is thrown
Snyders’ Flanders, only the nobility. And though this into the mix, what will come out and how it will behave
painting does not show large trophy game, the row of become more difficult to predict. Snyders knew this when
colorful finches secured on a willow branch and small birds he painted the fighting monkeys and the cats in his still life
lying pathetically on the edge of the table hint at the status in Flanders. But the monkey’s paw in pandemic influenza
of this household―also home of such exotic pets as the remains to be seen.
mischievous monkeys in the center of the action. In the
artist’s style, what might have been a sedate tabletop scene Bibliography
is enlivened by altercating primates, themselves joined by
1. Ducatez MF, Hause B, Stigger-Rosser E, Darnell D, Corzo C, Juleen
hostile feline intruders. K, et al. Multiple reassortment between pandemic (H1N1) 2009 and
Having toppled the basket, upsetting the fruit and endemic influenza viruses in pigs, United States. Emerg Infect Dis.
scattering the arrangement, the monkeys tugged nervously 2011;17:1624–9.
on the branch of rainier cherries already manhandled and 2. Ebert-Schifferer S. Still life: a history. New York: Harry Abrams;
1998.
jutting off to nowhere. The finch display collapsed in 3. Kalof L. Looking at animals in human history. London: Reaction
a heap, china overturned and worse, and two angry cats Books Ltd; 2007.
ready to pounce from opposite ends complete the picture. 4. Martin G. The Flemish School, 1600–1900. London: National
Snyders’ skills shine in the fur of the live animals and the Gallery Catalogues; 1970.
5. Slive S. Dutch painting, 1600–1800. New Haven (CT): Yale
texture of the game birds, which far from rigid or damaged University Press; 1995.
by the hunt are soft and languid as they rest on their backs
human-like. The fruit is plump and enticing, even rolled to Address for correspondence: Polyxeni Potter, EID Journal, Centers for
the edge of the cloth. Small branches with crinkly leaves Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd NE, Mailstop D61,
add to the natural feel of the original arrangement. Atlanta, GA 30333, USA; email: pmp1@cdc.gov
1786 Emerging Infectious Diseases • www.cdc.gov/eid • Vol. 17, No. 9, September 2011
