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Art history can be an incredibly complicated topic and a really tough nut to crack for anyone who hasn’t spent years upon years learning the various intricacies and subtleties needed to master the subject.

Luckily for all art lovers who just haven’t got the time to understand all the ins and outs of art history, the internet has provided some hilarious and easy-to-grasp tips on how to recognize the work of famous painters. Here is a list of the funniest and most accurate advice, so that you can impress your friends and family the next time you go to a museum or want to talk about something impressive at the dinner table. Scroll down, upvote your favorites, and leave us a comment with your views about art, classical paintings and what you thought of these tips.

#1

If Everyone – Including The Women – Looks Like Putin, Then It’s Van Eyck

If Everyone – Including The Women – Looks Like Putin, Then It’s Van Eyck

Jan van Eyck

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#2

If It’s Something You Saw On Your Acid Trip Last Night, It’s Dali

If It’s Something You Saw On Your Acid Trip Last Night, It’s Dali

Salvador Dalí

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#3

If Everyone Looks Like Hobos Illuminated Only By A Dim Streetlamp, It’s Rembrandt

If Everyone Looks Like Hobos Illuminated Only By A Dim Streetlamp, It’s Rembrandt

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn

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The person behind most of the art tips is Redditor DontTacoBoutIt. Unfortunately, their account now appears to be dead, but Bored Panda tried reaching out to them for an interview nonetheless. The tips have seen widespread success online, with over 8,800 upvotes and more than 1.17 million views on Imgur.

The Redditor’s explanations about how well-known artists can be recognized at a single glance are as informative as they are blunt and funny. For example, you can know almost for sure that a painting was done by Peter Paul Rubens if everyone’s naked and they all have very large derrières (‘butts’, the word means ‘butts’). And if everyone in a painting looks a bit like Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin, then you can bet your hat that it’s probably Jan van Eyck’s work.

#4

If The Paintings Have Lots Of Little People In Them But Also Have A Ton Of Crazy Bulls#%t, It’s Bosch

If The Paintings Have Lots Of Little People In Them But Also Have A Ton Of Crazy Bulls#%t, It’s Bosch

Hieronymus Bosch

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#5

If Everybody Has Some Sort Of Body Malfunction, Then It’s Picasso

If Everybody Has Some Sort Of Body Malfunction, Then It’s Picasso

Pablo Ruiz Picasso 

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#6

Lord Of The Rings Landscapes With Weird Blue Mist And The Same Wavy-Haired Aristocratic-Nose Madonna, It’s Da Vinci

Lord Of The Rings Landscapes With Weird Blue Mist And The Same Wavy-Haired Aristocratic-Nose Madonna, It’s Da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci

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So you can show off to your pals even more at your next soirée, here are some more facts to drop about Rubens and van Eyck (besides talking about butts and Putin of course).

A Flemish painter born sometime around 1380-1390, van Eyck is known as one of the early innovators of Early Netherlandish painting and one of the most important representatives of what’s known as Early Northern Renaissance art. As a master painter, he was employed by John III the Pitiless, the ruler of Holland and Hainaut, as well as Philip the Good, the Duke of Burgundy. Van Eyck wasn’t just a painter, he also acted as a diplomat for Philip. 

#7

If You See A Ballerina, It’s Degas

If You See A Ballerina, It’s Degas

Edgar Degas

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#8

Dappled Light And Unhappy Party-Time People, Then It’s Manet

Dappled Light And Unhappy Party-Time People, Then It’s Manet

Édouard Manet 

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Kaisu
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I would be unhappy too if I was trying to sit on the bench and enjoy my alone time and some random guy started hitting on me

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#9

If Everyone Is Beautiful, Naked, And Stacked, It’s Michelangelo

If Everyone Is Beautiful, Naked, And Stacked, It’s Michelangelo

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni

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Kaisu
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't know why my comment was down voted? I'm a queer woman myself, queer is a perfectly normal academic word to use (there's queer studies, queer literature studies, queer film studies). Queer is simply an umbrella term like the LGBT, only queer encompasses only sexualities while LGBT encompasses gender identities as well. I'm a queer woman and I'm attracted to women. Michelangelo was a queer man and he was attracted to men. The reason I don't use the word homosexual is because he never specified his sexuality and I don't feel comfortable assigning a specific sexuality for someone unless they have specified it themselves. Hopefully this clears it up for some of you 😊

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Jessica Strickland
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In my generation, the word queer went from meaning strange or odd to being a derogatory term used to insult. So, I assume there are people not closely associated with the LGBTQ community that still considers it rude. Personally, I still tense up at the word for a few seconds, assuming someone will take offense until I remember the LGBT community "took it back".

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Kaisu
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I mean, he was queer, so I'm not surprised he enjoyed drawing men like this

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Tina Hugh
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Um. Kaisu’s queer. They explain the word very nicely above. It’s become neutral. /p/ I get that you’re angry because you remember when ‘queer’ was really insulting, but let’s err on the side of kindness? And I’m directing that to myself too. It’s not easy to do

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Linda Janssen
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

also when the women look like men with incorrect boobs put on them, it's Michelangelo.

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Moe Lewis
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Funny fact - during the time period, small penises were associated with intelligence and rationale, whereas larger genitalia was associated with brutishness and a lack of intelligence. What Michelangelo is saying here is that Adam is beautiful, stacked, and if we're taking into account his size, an absolute Einstein.

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Max Mustermann
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

More like: When guys look beefy and manly and the women look beefy and manly

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Nacho CR
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If women look like weightlifters, it's Michelangelo 😅

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Kim Savant
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I always found his figures to have a strange combination of "fit" and "baby fat". Also, I don't find the men's hair very flattering. Makes me wonder what kind of hair style were popular back then.

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Raine
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ignoring all of the below comments about being gay.. Before i read those i was about to ask if thats a man hand he is reaching for, and perhaps suggest he might have been gay. Either way its about the art that made him famous .. not his sexuality.

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Annie F
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Michelangelo's figures were once described as looking like "a condom stuffed with walnuts", and I've never been able to get that image out of my mind!

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Clare E
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Afraid that was Clive James's description of Arnold Schwarzenegger and nothing to do with Michelangelo.

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2WheelTravlr
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Most likely because it wasn't really that important to Michelangelo from an artistic standpoint. Most artists stylize people's forms in various ways to make them more visually appealing.

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Julie Ackles
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This artist’s specialty was sculpture. His sculptures are magnificent. It seems to me he tried to sculpt or make his paintings look 3D and over did it. They are too muscular, too everything. He tried to do with the flat medium what he did with marble and it is not as great. His paintings are good but not as brilliant as the sculptures.

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Laura Campos
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I’ve always found his Sistine Chapel nudes bulky and coarse-looking. Hence, can’t really appreciate the Sistine Chapel the way I would like to. I love some of his other work, the Pietá for instance is lovely, and David isn’t bulky at all.

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GPZ
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The bottom painting is proof of anabolic steroid use in Michelangelo's time

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Torhild Hansen
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My caption to the painting of Adam: - Not tonight, dear, I have a headache...

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Lorraine R
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is the just-created Adam, before God 'breathed life' into him, or, in this case, touched his hand to bring him to life.

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Idiotnews
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4 years ago

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...stacked, with a d**k only Donald Trump could envy. 😂

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Idiotnews
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4 years ago

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...stacked, that is, with a d**k only Donald Trump could envy. 😂

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Meanwhile, Rubens (who was also a Flemish painter) was born in 1577 and is thought to be the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens was a specialist in making portraits, landscapes, altarpieces, and history paintings of mythological and allegorical subjects. Rubens was also a scholar and a diplomat who was knighted by Philip IV of Spain and Charles I of England.

#10

Dappled Light And Happy Party-Time People, It’s Renoir

Dappled Light And Happy Party-Time People, It’s Renoir

Pierre-Auguste Renoir

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#11

Dappled Light But No Figures, It’s Monet

Dappled Light But No Figures, It’s Monet

Claude Monet 

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#12

If The Images Have A Dark Background And Everyone Has Tortured Expressions On Their Faces, It’s Titian

If The Images Have A Dark Background And Everyone Has Tortured Expressions On Their Faces, It’s Titian

Tiziano Vecelli

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M Dream
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4 years ago

This comment has been deleted.

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#13

Excel Sheet With Coloured Squares, It’s Mondrian

Excel Sheet With Coloured Squares, It’s Mondrian

Piet Mondrian

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Greg Hoggarth
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Imagine being able to come up with something so simple to execute as this and convincing everyone it is great art worth lots of money.

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#14

If The Paintings Have Tons Of Little People In Them But Otherwise Seem Normal, It’s Bruegel

If The Paintings Have Tons Of Little People In Them But Otherwise Seem Normal, It’s Bruegel

Pieter Bruegel the Elder

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#15

If All The Men Look Like Cow-Eyed Curly-Haired Women, It’s Caravaggio

If All The Men Look Like Cow-Eyed Curly-Haired Women, It’s Caravaggio

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio

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#16

If Everyone In The Paintings Has Enormous Asses, Then It’s Rubens

If Everyone In The Paintings Has Enormous Asses, Then It’s Rubens

Sir Peter Paul Rubens

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#17

If Every Painting Is The Face Of A Uni-Browed Woman, It’s Frida

If Every Painting Is The Face Of A Uni-Browed Woman, It’s Frida

Frida Kahlo

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Molly A. Block
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Description forgot to add that there must be monkeys present, and shadow mustaches.

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#18

If Everything Is Highly-Contrasted And Sharp, Sort Of Bluish, And Everyone Has Gaunt Bearded Faces, It’s El Greco

If Everything Is Highly-Contrasted And Sharp, Sort Of Bluish, And Everyone Has Gaunt Bearded Faces, It’s El Greco

Doménikos Theotokópoulos - El Greco ("The Greek")

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#19

If The Painting Could Easily Have A Few Chubby Cupids Or Sheep Added (Or Already Has Them), It’s Boucher

If The Painting Could Easily Have A Few Chubby Cupids Or Sheep Added (Or Already Has Them), It’s Boucher

François Boucher

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Mimi M
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4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I knew all of these except for Boucher. And yeah, the writer is accurate. Handy dandy, indeed.

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