50 Classical Art Paintings That Sum Up Humanity In A Meme Format

We reached out to the team behind 'Classical Sarcasm' and all of its projects. One of the members of the team was kind enough to share their thoughts on everything.

They explained to us that the 'Classical Sarcasm' account has been up and running all the way since 2019.

We were curious to get their take as to why the project has been so successful over the years. "It’s been growing because of the unique content created every day," the representative told Bored Panda.

"Everyday struggles are the reason why so many young and old followers are enjoying the memes," they shared their perspective.

Bored Panda asked the 'Classical Sarcasm' team member whether they think that the content they share helps others appreciate classical art more. They believe so! In their opinion, social media has a very positive impact in this regard.

"Surely, classical art was almost forgotten without social media! Every painting has a story behind it, and those stories are being told with every meme we make," the representative said.

Meanwhile, they had some advice for anyone hoping to create high-quality memes using classical art as templates.

"Just be creative, and let your imagination make someone laugh." On top of that, they explained to Bored Panda that there’s no such thing as ‘bad’ memes because everything’s so subjective. "Every person looks at memes from a different angle."

The ‘Classical Sarcasm’ project is extremely well known on social media. It’s incredibly likely that you’ve seen some of its memes on your feed, whether shared by the original account itself or reposted by someone who’s a big fan of the content.

At the time of writing, the’ Classical Sarcasm’ Instagram account boasts 128k followers. Its Facebook page has a jaw-dropping 728k followers. Meanwhile, the Facebook group is home to 560k members from all over the globe.

In order to spread, memes have to be relatable. At least on some level. The beauty of ‘Classical Sarcasm’ is despite the fact that not everyone is an art historian or a fan of galleries, they can still vibe with the emotions, expressions, and comments portrayed in the images.

The added layer of humor further elevates the quality of the meme, and makes you more likely to (re)share it with the people you care about. And that’s how this unique combination of art and sarcasm has carved out such a popular niche for itself.

During a previous interview, Bored Panda spoke to the founder of the entire ‘Classical Sarcasm’ project, Adnan Cirak, from Bosnia and Herzegovina. “My inspiration is to promote art and also young artists who are painters and creators,” he told us earlier, adding that art memes help break cultural barriers, as his pages are followed worldwide.

"The success behind the page is original content and constant hard work. My team consists of me and my parents," Adnan told Bored Panda about how integral his mom, Sifa, and his dad, Sefik, really are to the project’s popularity. Aside from the ‘Classical Sarcasm’ Instagram account, Facebook page, and Facebook group, they also run a couple of similar Instagram pages.

“Paintings are perfect [templates for memes] because they all have a story behind [them]. Also, everyone has an opportunity to tell the story in their own way,” the founder shared with us.

According to him, a core part of the appeal is the freedom to interpret things as one sees them. Not only does this apply to the works of art featured in the images but to the memes, too.

“When creating memes, I just need to look at one painting, and immediately, the brainstorming starts in my head. Also, many followers are sending their own creations. I'm so proud that my page has motivated so many people to express their own creativity."

According to Adnan, he’s open to all young artists and companies to work together. Anyone who’s interested can contact him via the email he has shared publicly on his Facebook page.

One art historian previously explained to Bored Panda that many people have a wrong assumption about art history. They believe that it’s incredibly serious and important, which, in turn, leads to them feeling overwhelmed with the very idea of digging deeper into it.

That, however, isn’t true. Art history, according to the historian, is basically just old memes full of humor and humanity.

Meanwhile, an art expert, who previously headed a gallery, told us earlier that many people find art history intimidating exactly because it’s not taught in schools. The reality is that it’s not inaccessible despite being viewed as hard to grasp. Broadly speaking, people tend to feel intimidated by things that they aren’t experts in.

Art, according to the expert, can feel intimidating for some individuals because there’s an element of subjectivity to it that’s not found in subjects like, for example, math. A good way to get more people into art and art history is to democratize it: the subjects should be made accessible to individuals, no matter their background.

That, in turn, should make the subjects less scary and ephemeral. The point is to discuss and create art, not to be ‘right’ with your opinions. It’s about self-expression, emotions, and opinions.

Which of the memes featured in this post did you enjoy the most? Which ones did you send to your friends? What’s your relationship with art and art history like, Pandas? We’d love to hear your thoughts! If you have a spare moment, scroll down and leave a comment or two.