I believe it was Horace who said “A picture is a poem without words.” Well, he clearly wouldn’t have said that if he knew what Internetmemesare. Paintings and words can go together very well, and even great works of art can be as funny as they are stunning.

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Great works of art used as a canvas for a humorous meme about violence and historical witch trials.

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Cat looking at Egyptian statue with humorous text overlay, blending great works of art and memes.

Classic art meme with a woman writing, captioned about Instagram suggesting disliked people.

Let’s play a quick association game. When you hear “classical art,” do you immediately think “funny”? Probably not, unless you’re a connoisseur of fine art or an art historian. But I’m here to tell you that there are plenty of funny classical (and I’m using the term loosely here) painters who didn’t shy away from acting like silly little geese.Today, artist Joseph Ducreaux is famous for hiswitty self-portraits. He couldn’t have guessed it at the time, but they’re the perfect format for memes nowadays. Ducreaux was fascinated with physiognomy, the concept that our outer appearance reflects our character. Experts call his portraits anachronistic; they date back to the 1800s, yet the expressions seem so modern.

Let’s play a quick association game. When you hear “classical art,” do you immediately think “funny”? Probably not, unless you’re a connoisseur of fine art or an art historian. But I’m here to tell you that there are plenty of funny classical (and I’m using the term loosely here) painters who didn’t shy away from acting like silly little geese.

Today, artist Joseph Ducreaux is famous for hiswitty self-portraits. He couldn’t have guessed it at the time, but they’re the perfect format for memes nowadays. Ducreaux was fascinated with physiognomy, the concept that our outer appearance reflects our character. Experts call his portraits anachronistic; they date back to the 1800s, yet the expressions seem so modern.

Black and white image of three people in uniform, featuring humorous expressions for meme art.

Classic art depicting chaos with meme text about modern U.S. resembling Roman Empire fall, but with Wi-Fi.

Statues resembling ancient Greeks humorously loading a dishwasher with broken plates.

French painter and sculptor Marcel Duchamp is another great artist who had a pretty prominent funny bone. The quote “Humor is the only reason to live” is attributed to Duchamp, and he embodied it with most of his works, from reworking existing masterpieces to putting trash in an art gallery.His works like “Fountain” (a toilet bowl signed with the pseudonym ‘foo’) and “Mona LisaRevisited” (Gioconda with a silly mustache on her upper lip) are some of the most famous examples of Duchamp trolling other artists, his audience, and the art world in general.

French painter and sculptor Marcel Duchamp is another great artist who had a pretty prominent funny bone. The quote “Humor is the only reason to live” is attributed to Duchamp, and he embodied it with most of his works, from reworking existing masterpieces to putting trash in an art gallery.

His works like “Fountain” (a toilet bowl signed with the pseudonym ‘foo’) and “Mona LisaRevisited” (Gioconda with a silly mustache on her upper lip) are some of the most famous examples of Duchamp trolling other artists, his audience, and the art world in general.

Painting meme with a figure overlooking a foggy landscape, humorous text about holding grudges; great works of art meme.

Classic painting humor: two women with speech bubbles about chips and Doritos, illustrating hilarious memes on great art.

Red pen with “Fresh Outta Fucks” and a humorous checklist paper on a wooden desk.

Classic art painting with superimposed humorous meme text about a husband in the garden.

Great art used for a hilarious meme featuring Pandora humorously referring to an unboxing video.

Classic painting with a cat meme overlay, showing humor in great works of art.

Perhaps a lesser-known humorous painter is Pieter Brueghel the Elder. In 1559, he did a painting “Dutch Proverbs,” where he literallydepicteda collection of just that: Dutch proverbs. The painting includes a knight with a knife in his mouth representing the “To be armed to the teeth” proverb and him trying to put a bell on a cat (representing the saying “To bell a cat,” meaning to be indiscreet about secret plans).

Two women in medieval attire discuss cat armor in a humorous meme based on great works of art.

Great art memes: a patient humorously mistakes a psych ward for an escape room.

Two women in period clothing sharing a humorous meme conversation about disliking people, painted in classical art style.

Great works of art meme: Two women chatting at a desk with humorous text about discovering boys.

Artwork meme: child holding a humorously painted cat with text about cats being the artist’s passion.

Great works of art meme: woman in a gown tells a man “Do not disturb” in response to “What’s your sign?”.

An attempt at a somewhat more subdued humor was Eugène Lepoittevin’s “Approaching a Surprise” in 1852. In it, a reading priest is just about to turn a corner, but, unbeknownst to him, there’s a pile of clothes clearly belonging to a woman who just stripped off to take a dip into the lake. And here’s the suspense: will he raise his head from the book and see the surprise?

Classical art with a modern meme caption about clothes piled on a chair.

Great artwork turned into a funny meme: a lady holding a cup with a humorous to-do list above her.

Person dramatically posing next to a classic statue, creating a hilarious meme using great works of art.

The artists in the 1900s liked to joke about their craft, too. Giovanni Battista Quadrone’s “Every Opportunity is Good” depicts a gentleman looking at a just-finished portrait and blowing his nose. Meanwhile, the artist is just behind his back with the presumed model who’s also the gentleman’s wife. Perhaps artists back then truly did seize every opportunity they could get.

Man in classic artwork observing a UFO, with humorous text overlay; great works of art meme.

Great works of art meme depicting a muscular man and a skeleton in a humorous hospital setting.

Astrology-themed meme over a classic artwork, humorously advising to blame planets for failures.

In 1908, Pierre Bonnard finished “The Cherry Tart,” a colorful and idyllic painting depicting a woman enjoying some sweets outside. Yet the focal point of the painting are the sneaky eyes of a dog who, it seems, would like nothing more than to have a little taste of the delicious-looking cherry tart.

Two people in a classic painting, overlaid with a funny meme about drinking and cuteness.

Great works of art turned into funny memes; a doctor humorously refuses to help a patient because he’s an orphan.

Great art as a canvas for memes: a woman enjoys fruit by the sea with a cat, illustrating a humorous quote.

Man writing while a rabbit sits on a couch, creating a funny meme about eggs, blending art with humor.

Ancient figure writing at a desk, imagining children disobeying and writing books; art as canvas for hilarious meme.

Classic art painting humorously captioned, showing women in dresses lounging in a park setting.

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Hilarious art meme of a shepherd with sheep, captioned about ordering a German Shepherd online.

Great works of art meme with man in period clothing and a humorous autocorrect text about horses.

Elderly man in painting reading a book, overlaid with a funny meme about understanding philosophers and internet arguments.

Great work of art humorously captioned about melons.

Two women in vintage attire reading, with humorous speech bubbles; great works of art meme.

Woman asking fortune-teller about planet making her sad in hilarious meme using great art as canvas.

Two women in vintage attire depicted in a humorous meme, engaging in a witty conversation.

Medieval horses used as funny memes with nine different comical expressions and postures.

Great works of art meme featuring a woman in ancient attire with a humorous caption about life.

Great works of art used for a humorous meme about journey times and unexpected discoveries.

Great works of art meme featuring an elder advising a child with a humorous caption.

Great works of art used as a meme showing a leader addressing a crowd with red flags, captioned with a dating joke.

Great work of art used as a canvas for a meme about people ignoring each other before smartphones.

Woman washing dishes with a humorous meme about music topics; example of art used for memes.

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Tourist in front of Big Ben; painting of British soldiers below. Hilarious meme using great works of art.

Baby Bacchus sipping wine, humorously captioned; art becomes the perfect canvas for memes.

Classic art piece humorously captioned with “The gender neutral term for sugar daddy is glucose guardian."

A famous artwork humorously depicts existential thoughts, adding a comedic twist to the great work of art.

Great works of art meme with a woman playfully poking a bending man with a stick under a humorous caption.

Classic art scene turned into a hilarious meme with text about budgeting and chaos, featuring a man and a skeleton.

Great works of art meet memes: a small dog painting humorously reimagined with a fierce expression.

Classic art with humorous meme of child asking to sleep with mother, who gives a funny monster-related reply.

Portrait of a man in traditional attire with humorous meme text about life perspective and Titanic lobsters.

Art meme featuring meditating figures with humorous speech bubble about battles, showcasing great works of art as a canvas.

WhatsApp chat with meme of art showing underground exploration.

Painting of a woman with a humorous meme text overlay about aging effects replacing drinking and drugs.

Great works of art as a funny meme showing evolution into a beaver after nibbling on an ice cream stick.

Painting of two women with text overlay humorously turning it into a meme.

Two women in period dresses sharing humorous relationship advice on a great work of art.

Trojan horse historical scene reimagined as a meme, with soldiers taking a selfie and humorous emojis in the text above.

Classic art meme with a knight being knighted by a lady, adding humor to the scene.

Great works of art meme: Native American kneeling, captioned humor asking “who asked you?"

Classical art painting used as a hilarious meme, featuring a person shouting with the text above.

Couple in vintage art style with humorous text bubbles, creating a funny meme from great works of art.

Great works of art meme: a meditating figure humorously comments on a giraffe’s coffee.

Karl Marx meme with humorous quote: “The wise man poops on company time. The foolish man waits until his break."

Great works of art meme depicting a humorous medieval threesome scene.

Eerie surreal art meme text: “life before caffeine” with a wizard and floating eye.

Great works of art used as a canvas for a funny meme: “Are you single?” “No, I am a whole album."

Portrait of Grigori Rasputin with a humorous meme caption about being an empath.

Painting with humorous meme text about handling mean people, featuring a man with a skeleton playing a violin.

Great works of art transformed into a meme with Julius Caesar surrounded by multiple versions of an elderly woman.

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Greta Jaruševičiūtė

Evelina Šiukšterytė

Ilona Baliūnaitė

Funny