Meme-ification of Art

Hey art lover,

It feels good to be back in your inbox.

Lately, while scrolling through the internet, we have noticed how famous paintings keep being used as memes. Some of these memes catch your eye, and some make you pause.

Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring, taking a bathroom selfie was the one that stuck with us the most.

As we kept scrolling, we saw Michelangelo’s David holding an iced latte, Mona Lisa wearing sunglasses with the caption “not impressed,” and countless other playful twists.

Absurd as they are, these memes are giving centuries-old works a new kind of life.

The American Gothic Phenomenon

The Renaissance meets Photoshop

Remember the 2018 meme of American Gothic with AirPods? That meme spiralled into full-blown TikTok trends, classroom projects, and even museum merch.

American Gothic once stood for solemn Midwestern grit. The internet took a serious painting and turned it into a joke, and introduced it to millions of people who might never have cared otherwise.

Museums have started to double down on this power.

The Rijksmuseum now curates user-generated memes of Dutch masters, and curators admit these posts reach more people than their official campaigns.

“The kids aren’t mocking the art. They’re claiming it as their own,” one of them told a journalist.

If soup cans could become art, why not a viral Photoshop of Botticelli’s Venus holding a blow-dryer?

• When Jared Leto wore a giant cat costume to the 2023 Met Gala, medieval manuscript memes went viral overnight.

• The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C, shared a series of art memes on X, engaging the audience with playful reinterpretations of classical works.

• The Museo del Prado in Madrid has found notable success on TikTok by sharing captivating, story-driven videos about its artwork

Luxury brands have noticed too. Gucci’s recent campaigns restyled Renaissance portraits as Instagram selfies, blurring the line between fashion and fine art parody.

What The Internet Is Telling Us

What was once a joke is now a tool of education.

The Bigger Picture

To some, the idea of memes looks disposable. If you think about it they fit a very old pattern. Art has always been about remixing and reinterpreting.

Caravaggio scandalised viewers by painting saints with dirty feet. Duchamp placed a urinal in a gallery. Banksy shredded his own painting the moment it sold.

In that sense, it is false to say that the internet is cheapening art. In fact, it would be accurate to say that it is continuing the cycle.

The next time you see Michelangelo’s David in Crocs, don’t dismiss it. Memes like that are part of a much larger conversation about how we keep art alive.

What art meme made you pause this week? Reply with your favorite, and maybe we’ll share it in the next edition.