Thread by Datus Magnificus (@datusmagnificus)

🚨🎨THREAD🎨🚨 [The Chimpanzee Who Fooled Everyone] Pierre Brassau was a mysterious artist. No one knew him when he debuted at an exhibition, with just four works, but he caused a stir among critics. That artist was, in fact, a zoo chimpanzee. Do you want to meet him?👇

Meet the protagonist of this thread. Here are three facts: 1. His name wasn't Pierre, but Peter. 2. He lived a very peaceful life at his zoo, Borås Djurpark (Sweden). 3. His life wasn't exactly about fame (eating bananas was his only passion), but a journalist had a very curious idea.👇

Ese periodista era Åke Axelsson. Y quería desafiar a los críticos. Si llevaba las obras de un simio a una exposición de arte moderno, ¿podrían detectar el fraude? ¿O disfrutarían de su arte? Con esta premisa, Axelsson buscó un cómplice para su plan.👇

It was 1964. Axelsson traveled to Borås Zoo and met Peter, a four-year-old chimpanzee. He then found Peter's keeper, told him about his plan, and apparently he liked the idea very much. Peter won his first painting kit, started painting, and became quite an artist.👇

They say Peter had sparks of inspiration. The more creative he was, the faster he ate his bananas. Axelsson left the genius to work (with his arsenal of bananas, of course), and when he returned, he chose his four favorite works. Only one thing was missing: an alias for Peter.👇

Axelsson wanted a French name, so he changed Peter to Pierre. Then he read "Borås Zoo" somewhere, and then he thought of Brassau as a surname. All set. With only four works, Axelsson took Peter/Pierre to the Gallerie Christinae in Gothenburg.👇

A critic described our friend "Pierre" like this: "Pierre Brassau paints with powerful strokes under a very clear determination. His brushstrokes twist with furious meticulousness. Pierre is an artist whose pieces are executed with the delicacy of a ballet dancer."

That critic was Rolf Anderberg, and he wasn't Pierre's only fan. In fact, it's said that a man bought one of the works, shelling out $90 at the time. That would be more than $700 today! But not everyone liked Pierre. Someone said, "Only an ape could have done this."👇

Absolutely right. But it wasn't just any ape. I wonder how many chimpanzees have such a cool name! The exhibition ended, and Axelsson told the truth. Critics, journalists, art students saw Peter's work... and everyone was stunned by the news.👇

All but one, of course. The one who guessed the ape. And what did Rolf Anderberg, Peter's biggest fan, say? Well, he didn't back down. Quite the opposite! Rolf insisted that Peter's work was the best. Which speaks highly of the ape... And average of the other artists...👇

And what happened to Peter? Did he continue his career as an artist? Unfortunately, no. His life went on as usual, and in 1969, he was taken to Chester Zoo (England), where he spent the rest of his days. In short, Peter was a misunderstood artist. Like so many other geniuses...🔚

PS1: And that's it for this week's thread! Do you know any other artist animals? If so, leave us a comment! 😉 Will you help us spread the word? ❤️ You can share it by RTing the first tweet, which we've left below. 👇

PS2: If you're just getting to know us and want more fun facts, we invite you to follow us. And if you don't want to miss a thread, you can sign up for our newsletter. We'll always let you know when there's a new thread. Just click here and enter your email! 👇

PS3: We dedicate this thread to @Batallitass, who inspired us for the format and was very kind. We also dedicate it to @itineratur, because we had several ideas for the thread, and when we saw his photo, we decided on Peter. If you don't follow them yet, don't hesitate to do so! ❤️