Several studies conducted in captivity have demonstrated that chimpanzees, like other great apes, enjoy painting and drawing. But new resreach led by French and Japanese primatologists has shown that they each have their own drawing style – and that it can evolve and improve over time.
Issued on: 24/05/2026 - 16:41
2 min Reading time
"Zamba draws nothing but dots. Loi sketches curves and triangles. Misaki fills the page with large fan-shaped patterns. These aren’t children in an art class. They are chimpanzees, and they each have their own style," writes ethologist Cédric Sueur on Instagram, sharing images of each chimp's distinctive art. Sueur is one of four primatologists, three from France and one from Japan, who collaborated on a study published this month in the scientific journal Primates. The colleagues analysed nearly 500 drawings produced by six chimpanzees at the Great Ape Research Institute, a sanctuary in southern Japan that takes in chimpanzees and bonobos that were once used as laboratory test subjects. The team provided the animals with paper, paint and brushes. They were not trained to use them and weren't offered a reward for doing so. By analysing 494 drawings over eight years, each piece dated and attributed, the researchers discovered that every chimpanzee has its own unique graphic signature, which evolves over time. "Three dimensions structure the artwork of all individuals – the way they occupy space, the diversity of shapes, the richness of colours – exactly the same way as in orangutans and human children," Sueur says. "These styles evolve over time: the chimpanzees increasingly fill the frame, diversify their shapes and develop more complexity."
