Explore Art History With These Reddit Memes
Subreddit / r / trippinthroughtime for memes about historical figures, where someone in the arts or in the old photo looks shot down with confusing or silly. Each image has a caption, usually considering the strange art as a kind of contemporary situation. But in discussions, you’ll often find someone explaining interesting facts about an original piece of art. For instance:
The top comment on the popular post above (written by redditor clouddevourer ) explains what’s really going on in this picture:
The background to this picture is actually quite interesting, the jester – Stanczyk, who was a real person, the letter on the left is news of the Russian capture of the Polish city of Smolensk, an event that ultimately led to the fall of Poland. On the right you see a ballroom with a crowd of parties who don’t care about bad news, they just want to have fun. The only one who cares is the jester and there is nothing he can do about it.
The painting was painted by Jan Matejko, who captured many events in the history of Poland. One of his most famous works is Bitwa pod Grunwaldem , absolutely huge, really amazing to see in person.
Not every post has an instructional comment, but very popular posts often do. You have a better chance if the work seems familiar or especially interesting to you, even without a signature. (Look in the comments for words like real , anyone , real , interesting, or historical .)
Comments on other popular posts explain how Saint Veronica looks like she is selling T-shirts at the crucifixion of Jesus , how doctors “treated” women to orgasm , why the woman in the illuminated manuscript bends back, and why the official portrait of Australian Prime Minister Frank Ford looks like a random candid photo . These are just oversimplified explanations, so don’t base your thesis on them, but they’re fun and a good starting point for a Google search. If you don’t find an explanatory comment, you can always start the meme with a reverse image search .
Of course, sometimes you don’t get art history, but only erotic fiction about the sculptor Bernini .