22 Classical Art Memes to Paint You a Portrait of Funnies Today (January 27, 2026)

A meme is worth a thousand words.

Well, there are already words on most memes, but you understand the sentiment. Memes are an art form, and like all art, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Or should we say, meme-holder? 

Were you a good art history student in school? Did you look at the foreground and the background of a painting and feel something? Did you analyze an artwork like your life (and grade) depended on it? If you answered "yes" to any of those questions, then you're probably also familiar with the very common classical art meme genre.

I remember my first art history class. It was the freshman year of college, and the lecture hall was dimly lit. I took a seat in the front row (rookie mistake) and raised my hand more than once. There's nothing like setting the tone for a teacher's pet semester on the first day of classes. I'd soon find out there was, in fact, a reason that I was the only person sitting in the front row. I'd go on to cry in the campus library because I couldn't memorize 40 paintings for my midterm exam. Enough about me…

Art keeps our minds alive and colorful. Can you remember the last time you entered an art museum? You know, the kind that you kind of need to be quiet in and look at a painting for at least two minutes? When you were younger, you probably counted down the seconds in your head while trying to find anything thought-provoking in a landscape painting, only to realize that the artist statement intended for you to feel nothing at all while examining it. The art world is an interesting space, but what makes it a bit more inclusive and palatable is incorporating modern culture into it.

We can't all be the art savants we aspire to be. There's space in this world for every kind of savant, even those based in internet culture. Some of us are meant to be the memelords of the classical art realm, see exhibits one through 22 below.