They have their destinies — not only the books, works of art and artists. "Monkey with skull" and its creator Wolfgang Hugo Rheinhold (1853-1900) could hardly be more different. Immediately after Rheinhold 1893 presented the sculpture at the great Berlin art exhibition as a thesis for his studies at the Berlin Royal Academy of fine arts, the Berlin picture Foundry of Gladenbeck & son offered to licensed casts. These were not only to private collectors, but also many international scientific institutions. They are there to admire still today: In the Royal College of surgeons in London, at the medico-Chirurgical society in Aberdeen, the Boston Medical Library and the Department of Zoology at the University of Edinburgh. A Russian copy probably has the most famous site: was (and is still) Wladimir Iljitsch of Lenin's desk.

While fame and notoriety of the sculpture continuously rose, Rheinhold fell almost into oblivion after his early death. Only after an exhibition in Aberdeen 1989 resulted in serious biographical research. Most of what you could since then gather about Rheinhold, was published only in the last 15 years.

Rheinhold was not only a sculptor, but also philosophy graduate and co-founder of "German society for ethical culture". Maybe that explains his '' monkeys '' dazzling meaning wealth. He represents not only a quite humorous commentary on the debate of Darwinism, but calls at the same time with the Genesis quote "Eritis sicut deus" ("you will be like God") on the ethical responsibility of any science.