IJsvermaak met apen - Matthijs Pool

A satirical Dutch etching from c. 1720 depicting monkeys dressed in eighteenth-century clothing engaging in winter ice sports.

This etching by Matthijs Pool, titled IJsvermaak met apen, offers a satirical take on the popular Dutch tradition of winter ice skating. Produced in Amsterdam around 1720, the print depicts a frozen canal scene populated entirely by anthropomorphised monkeys. These figures are dressed in contemporary eighteenth-century attire, complete with feathered hats and coats, mimicking the social behaviours and leisure activities of the Dutch elite.

Pool uses the monkeys to parody human folly. One figure is shown falling onto the ice, while others navigate horse-drawn sleighs across the frozen surface. The background features a recognisable Dutch townscape with church spires and gabled houses, grounding the absurd scene in a familiar setting. The inclusion of bilingual text in French and Dutch at the base of the print provides a moralising commentary on the vanity and clumsiness of the figures, a common trope in the moralising art of the period.

The composition is typical of early eighteenth-century printmaking, utilising fine, precise lines to delineate the figures and the distant architecture. The perspective is relatively shallow, focusing the viewer's attention on the chaotic interactions of the monkeys. As an engraver and publisher, Pool was well-versed in the visual language of his time, and this work reflects the period's interest in 'singerie', or monkey scenes, which were frequently employed to mock human social hierarchies and pretensions. The print serves as a curious example of how artists used humour and caricature to engage with contemporary social norms, transforming a standard winter scene into a critique of human behaviour. The technical execution demonstrates the high level of craftsmanship associated with the Amsterdam print trade during the early eighteenth century, capturing both the texture of the ice and the expressive gestures of the monkeys with clarity.