Leopold Billek Spotted Monkey (Simia Diand)

An original c.1820 gouache painting, Leopold Billek, Spotted Monkey (Simia Diand).

A captivating original drawing by the Bohemian/Moravian (now Czech) artist Leopold Billek, who was active in the 1820s. It appears that Billek was based in the town of Telč (or German Teltsch), near the Bohemia-Moravia border (now Czech Republic). Billek worked at a time when the Bohemian Lands were under Habsburg rule and was evidently a member of the sizable German-speaking population.

Billek's work encompasses a remarkable range of subjects and embodies the spirit of the 'Renaissance man'. This drawing shows his interest in zoology and uses opaque gouache in a way that evokes the brilliant pigments of medieval works on paper.

In gouache with charcoal. On laid paper.