30 Art History Memes That Are Hilariously Relatable, As Shared On This Instagram Page
Hear ye, hear ye! Gather round for some of the world’s funniest and most relatable memes that will blow your medieval minds! These masterpieces will make you chuckle harder than the queen’s jester, and they might just bring you a greater appreciation for high art.
Allow us to introduce you pandas to the Official Medieval Reactions Instagram account. This brilliant page puts a modern spin on medieval paintings, giving them hilarious captions mentioning dating apps, first world problems, cell phones, internet etiquette and more. Shakespeare would likely be horrified by the writing on these images, but lucky for us, he’s not around to create a tragedy about how we’ve ruined the art of his time.
Enjoy this list of paintings that you might find surprisingly relatable (as you sit there with your smartphone or laptop…), and be sure to upvote the memes you think belong in an art museum. Feel free to share in the comments which medieval pieces of art you’d like to use as a canvas to convey your modern day woes, and then if you’re interested in checking out a Bored Panda article featuring classical paintings with a similar spin on them, you can find that right here!
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OOOOoooooOOOOOoooooOOOO but all that I hope, is it just sMoKe AnD mIrRoRs, MiRrOrS, mIrRoRs
Load More Replies...Wait what if the whole thing was an elaborate cover up for Mary cheating on Joseph?
Look, I have no idea what this photorealistic (or is it a photo) kitsch is, but clearly not. medieval.
It's immaculate conception! ᴴᵉʰ ʰᵉʰ, ʷʰᵃᵗ ᵃ ˢᵘᶜᵏᵉʳ. ᵀʰᶦˢ ᶜᵃⁿ'ᵗ ᵖᵒˢˢᶦᵇˡʸ ʰᵃᵛᵉ ᵃⁿʸ ᵗᵉʳʳᶦᵇˡᵉ ʳᵃᵐᶦᶠᶦᶜᵃᵗᶦᵒⁿˢ ᵖᵃˢᵗ ᵐʸ ˡᶦᶠᵉᵗᶦᵐᵉ.
Yep, they've worked hard and built their position to be able to be the 'cats now'. What have YOU done?
those furry heathens can do no wrong - laze away you sweet little furballs! though it would be kinda nice if they helped with errands once in a while........
When I showed this pic and comment to my kitty, she rolled her eyes and went back to sleep.
For any of you just starting to read this thread "random username" would appear to have a bit of a bee in their bonnet about what is "Medieval", despite the fact it is clearly just a bit of fun.
I think it's impressive that "random username " knows these paintings well enough to know which year they were painted. And I think BP perpetuating misinformation is wrong, as some of us might recognise one of these paintings in the future and wrongly describe it as Medieval. Thus giving falsities the opportunity to travel halfway around the world before the truth gets its pants on.
Load More Replies...Downvoting on BP gets the person banned. Don't downvote if you disagree with the person.
And here you are getting downvoted. I fixed one for you but you might want to upvote yourself if you haven’t already.
Load More Replies...And the just changed the title removing "medieval". And the list still work! Being accurate require so little...
That's what the Priest says as he tries to stay awake to hear a boring and oft repeated Confession.
Fun fact: the Confessional with it's grids should prevent touching in both directions and thus also prevent possible sexual abus. Nevertheless, verbal abuse on the part of the confessor often occurred, which continued outside the confessional
I hate to break it to you: this isn’t BP’s fault. The Instagram account they skim this content from is called “Official Medieval Reactions”. It’s not something BP made up just for the article. Go chew out the IG account mods if it matters that much to you.
Load More Replies...The middle ages were definitely a different time, which we can clearly see reflected in their artwork. But even though we might not be able to relate to wielding swords, wearing fabulous dresses or having our villages pillaged, human nature stays the same, and some part of us can relate to the emotions experienced in these images. That’s why Official Medieval Reactions is so brilliant. It doesn’t matter what caused the people in these paintings to be upset, excited or scared, we can relate to the way they feel. And clearly, the Instagram page resonates with many people, as it has amassed over 140k followers.
In fact, the trend of meme-ing medieval art has become so popular that Alicia Eler, a writer for HyperAllergic, even published an article earlier this year dissecting why exactly medieval art is so meme-able. She first notes that the original intention of these pieces was not comedy at all, but as times change, we tend to find many things from the past humorous. The outfits our parents wore to prom, even the outfits we wore in middle school ourselves, don’t quite hold up to fashion standards today. But at the time, we looked fabulous. It’s important to keep in mind that the world was just a different place back then, and we now view these pieces of art through a very different lens.
and then u realize you've been playign the game wrong the whole f*****g time.
The rules of Monopoly read like a will and testament. I think you can take out loans, with interest and everything. Also I think you can barter for properties with other players. Or not. Whatever idk.
I'm appalled at this electronic money thing they came out with. Stealing or atleast trying to steal money is like an unspoken rule
I know Krampus isn't British but this has the same dark energy as about 80% of Victorian Christmas cards. Monsters, ghouls, murdered birds and frogs, and headless egg babies. Victorians were ODD.
'Excuse me that is MY load-bearing sense of humour, please do not meddle with it'
My (toxic) old friends always reported me to a teacher complaining I'm being insensitive when I tried to cope with my life with sarcastic jokes /:
Load More Replies...How dare you turn this into a somber occasion when I'm struggling to put one foot before the other.
You realise that YOU are the fun vaccum here? "It's not mediaeval!" We are all sitting with this face while reading your comments.
Load More Replies...“There’s something about the surprise of the medieval,” Sonja Drimmer, a scholar of medieval European art, and associate professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, told HyperAllergic. “One of the conceptions about the European Middle Ages has to do with blind piety, prudishness, but when people see imagery that defies that, the disjunction leads to laughter.”
Many of us believe we have much more contemporary views on topics such as sex, relationships, and gender equality today, but the people of the middle ages might not have been as conservative as we imagine them to be. There are plenty of memes on Official Medieval Reactions featuring nudity, violence, drinking, and even intimate acts. I wonder what their parties were like...
Actually seems Renaissance to me.... look at the dress, perspecitve and shadows
Load More Replies...Omg my mom once said my brother would say he was fine if he was on fire. He DID say he was fine when he'd broken an arm once.
Hey, it could be that the beasts are into aliens. ; p
Load More Replies...Does anyone remember the early days when The History channel was a legit place to learn history stuff?
Oh thank you! How benevolent and magnanimous of you!! /s
Load More Replies...A faux theory of the evolution of humanity...
Load More Replies...So that's how it happened! Then some dude tried to recreate it and gave us aids. Nature is fickle!
The deity YHWH (Jehovah) is/was, by definition, an extra-terrestrial. Judeo / Xian / Muslim cults worship an ET alien. Cat-worship looks pretty normal in comparison.
People keep asking what you’re getting them for Christmas! 😭 you need the job till new years
Load More Replies...I really don't appreciate this at all! It's obvious someone snuck into my room to paint me in the morning without my permission.
One odd thing about sleep: We know that one day we won't wake up, ever again; yet we still hit the sack thinking "Not this time..."
My overlords demand it because they refuse to get jobs for their own damn treats
“I think there is something about Western medieval art that seems like a safe target … some of the memes — like the side-eye horse, if it were sub-Saharan Africa — you could imagine meme-ifying it, and then imagine it becoming deeply problematic very quickly,” Erik Inglis, professor of Medieval art history at Oberlin College, told HyperAllergic. “I think with the very white faces of Western medieval art, it seems innocent. We are pretty willing to condescend to the Middle Ages, [which is] not fraught as it is to condescend to other ages.” I can see how the white subjects in these photos can be linked to first world problems today because it seems very familiar to see wealthy, white individuals complaining about the woes of being rich and not having the world revolve around them. Although it wasn’t the initial intention with these pieces of art, it is fun to imagine these people as entitled, out of touch celebrities.
Tad confusing. Francis is the male spelling, whereas Frances is the female spelling.
I'd tell you to go to hell, but I live there and I don't want to see you every day.
There’s a great story, a super-Christian lady comes to the gates of heaven, and is welcomed in. She comments that she can’t wait to see her family, and the guy at the gates says, “oh, no, they’re not here.” She looks confused and asks why. He replies “well, your husband ate shellfish that one time so that’s a no, your daughter had premarital s3x… your son was gay so of course he went to hell like you always told him… your parents got divorced…” and so on. She finally stops him and says “ok, ok, I get it… well, do you want to hang out sometime?” He tells her no, and adds, “besides, I live in hell and commute.”
Load More Replies...Do you know what it’s called? I’d like to check it out
Load More Replies...I absolutely adore that point in history where nobody knew what a skeleton looked like
I wish I could get away with only two flutes, a lute and a choir of three....
Sorry, sorry, but all I can think about is their fetid breath on each other.
guy on the left reminds me of this- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggKeB9OOkRY
I need a break before going to the next meme. This is effing hilarious!
“Medieval imagery is so phone-friendly,” Cem A., an artist and curator who runs the popular art meme page @freeze_magazine, and curatorial assistant at Documenta 15, told HyperAllergic. “For me, its style is more simplified, representational, and cartoonish than our classical understanding of painting. Figures in these images usually have exaggerated (and therefore easier to grasp) relationships onto which you can build a meme. Its aesthetics works better on the compact screens of smartphones.” Also a great point; why draw up a cartoon or create a meme from scratch when you have two people in the frame already? Similar to how stock images make great meme bases, such as the famous distracted boyfriend photo meme and the man holding a cup of coffee while smiling meme, all it takes is a simple image with one or more people showing emotion, and you’ve got an excellent meme canvas.
BARKBARKBARKBARKBARKBARKBARKBARKBARKBARK
Load More Replies...When they insult a member of feline perfection by calling him a dog: 😾
Ugh! And it's so embarrassing when people appear and say things like "Who is walking who?".
Bob: "What do you think of my lion painting?" Jim: "Well, it IS a nice lion. Quite nice, for sure. But the painting still... how do I say it... lacks something." Bob: "Okay, tell you what. How about.. now hear me out... how about in the background I paint an excited goose, a dude in a towel who just got out of the shower, and a monkey checking out his balls?" Jim: "Oh yeah, that would make it a lot more interesting."
*I'm suddenly very busy folding my laundry, sorry, can't possibly drop it right now*
I had no idea roaches had clothing. How does it work? Do you have a really long shirt with six sleeves? Or a shirt with two sleeves and pants with four legs? Perhaps a shirt with four sleeves and a pair of pants with two legs?
Load More Replies...Everything sounds like a good idea until you have to get up and get dressed for it!!
im imajining Jesus saying " omg dad like i know i have to die for our sins and stuff like i seriosly dad"
Load More Replies...Happens all the time and yet sometimes there is something I'd like to try, damn-it
Aside from how well it fits into many memes, medieval art is still important to us today. Many people love watching films and reading books set in fictional versions of these times, and if we want to have fantasy worlds that have even slightly realistic qualities, it’s important to actually understand those times. “We all know what brings students and museumgoers through our doors,” says Lisa Fagin Davis, executive director of the Medieval Academy of America, the world’s largest medieval studies advocate. “'Game of Thrones,' Lord of the Rings, 'Vikings,' Harry Potter, film, even 'Dungeons & Dragons' and pseudo-medieval video games all feed the flames of medieval fandom. It's our job to take that enthusiasm and direct it toward productive and fact-based pedagogy."
My new girlfriend has a multiple personality disorder. It’s pretty cool actually… It's like being with a different person every time we have sex. Except for the one time she turned into Dave the construction worker.
Load More Replies...Jane Austen helped me with this one! This is very Georgian style clothing, which makes it most likely from the mid to late 18th century.
Load More Replies...In Croatia, there is a town called Split (you can look it up). People there all have Split personality.
@Random username why do you keep posting dates like that? Does it really matter?
It might to them (even though it might seem pedantic to the rest of us). Let's remember to not downvote them unless they're commenting things that are hurtful or spam!
Load More Replies..."Life is pain highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something". (Wesley/Dread Pirate Roberts)
Load More Replies...Random Username? not here? ok then - def. not medieval; prob. mid to late 19th century.
why are yall downvoting @Mr.G86? they made a funny comment, at least imo
This painting is utterly disturbing. It looks like he just bit her up and now he's enjoying the view.
If you’re interested in learning more about medieval art, you might need to invest a decent amount of time into your studies. “One of the barriers to cultivating a passion for medieval art among modern viewers is that we are looking at objects that are deeply decontextualized,” says Nicole Meyers, curator of European painting and sculpture. “Whether fragments of architectural elements that originated in Gothic cathedrals or liturgical objects that have been isolated from the rich environments in which they would have been used and observed by medieval men and women.” It’s fun to spin these paintings into modern context, but it can be nice to understand the actual background of the images as well.
It is succubus, a demon who has fierce sex with women, leaving them totally exhausted, not fit for work.
monkeys, crows, dolphins, racoons, elephants, and just about everything else, if we include anti vaxxers
Load More Replies...This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Load More Replies...And if we include all the people who murder people and animals just for fun
Humans are so arrogant in my opinion. You humans are not the sharpest blade in the knife shop.
Humans? Sad if you think they are the most intelligent...they are many things, but...
Hey, as long as you’re on time (or at least before your manager) it’s all good!
Load More Replies...I have no idea why you’ve been getting so much heat for caring about art history, but I dig it.
Load More Replies..."life is jut TOO over whelming. cant possible do anything else."
Let’s also take a moment to appreciate medieval art for what makes it so special, aside from its meme-ability. According to Art In Context, art from the dark ages spans such a long period of time that it can be broken down into several distinct periods and styles, including Early Christian Art, Byzantine art, Pre-Romanesque and Romanesque art, and Gothic art. Various regions in Europe also had their own unique artistic styles that overlapped in time period with the styles of other countries. Medieval art featured a variety of mediums, such as sculptures, illuminated manuscripts, mosaics, tapestries, metalworks, and stained glass. Some pieces even utilized precious metals, ivory carvings, enamel and embroidery, and these works were seen as more valuable than simple paintings and sculptures.
I really love this illustration. I would put this on a t shirt if I could
just call me dr. strange 'cause my life is a multiverse of madness.....
This Flammarion engraving intrigued me to learn more about multiverse theories. But, I can also see how some flat-earthers might see this engraving differently.
We don't really care if the artwork is medieval or not, we're just here for the funny captions
Load More Replies...Whenever someone tells me how I look tired, I tell them this is how I always look because I want them to suffer as much as I do.
Did somebody hurt you? Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed? Why are you bothering to s**t on every single one of these entries with your apparent superiority complex about calling these paintings out for “not being medieval”?
Load More Replies...As with any time period, the art of medieval times reflects the social structures and views held by the people in those times. Most of the art that emerged during the dark ages was religious in nature and featured Catholic subjects and themes. There were also many conflicts within society between the peasants and the upper classes who controlled their land. Art was also important to be able to convey messages, as many people could not read. Illuminated manuscripts became very important for this reason.
Except that cats are critically important and the are everyone's priority.
Load More Replies...I’d love to sleep outside, I just don’t have the right garden for it
Load More Replies...I think this is how I still manage to get a good night's rest despite having crippling anxiety. Deep down, I just don't really care. XD
He says, the meek shall inherit the earth..... What Jesus blatantly fails to appreciate is that it's the meek who are the problem!
We are very lucky to be able to see this art from our phone screens without any fear of plagues or imminent village pillaging; that safety allows us to find humor in these masterpieces from the middle ages. Keep upvoting the memes you find particularly relatable, and if you’ve thought of any more hilarious medieval reactions, feel free to share them down below! If you want to see even more of these images, you can follow Official Medieval Reactions on Instagram right here, and if you’d like to check out a Bored Panda article featuring similar memes, but of classical artwork, you can find that story right here.
Are we missing a tiny vomit splash around here for a complete picture?
I always say " I only want to see naked old dudes when I am old and even then I'd rather not. So: nudity maybe should be fun but often is not.
Load More Replies...Me, playing in the sandbox as a kid, and finding a cat had used it as a litterbox. EEWWW!
I feel this. All my dishes have to be completely free of food particles before I put them in the water.
It's the fact that I love weird and gross things but I can't even handle a piece of food that touches me in the dirty dish water
This is the famous painting of Charles I by Van Dyke.
Load More Replies...I feel you. When you know the basics of art history (western, in this case) it does get frustrating how frequently folks misidentify periods because it’s not of interest to them personally.
Load More Replies...I think she is just jealous that he has more beautiful legs than her
If someone says this to me I'll respect it then I'm going to scream
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Load More Replies...I do it whenever I’m traveling and a song that seems like it would be in the background of a travel montage. I don’t know if I’m in a car with the main character, better to be safe than sorry
And you’ll be incontinent, illiterate, unemployed, dependent, celibate and ignorant for, like, YEARS.
That's because you're bored and a panda. Having an account on here is sure to cause drama in one way or another.
Load More Replies...At the first sign of drama, that's my cue to turn off the lights and make believe I'm sleeping.
This was the beginning of the pandemic for me. It took a good year to realize why everyone was as miserable as me.
I hate drama. I tried to keep my circle small but somehow, still got drama. I gotta be on my own fr.
We really don't care. Can you at least try to enjoy this without trying to correct every wrong here?
Load More Replies...Please remember that the downvote button is not a dislike button! If a person gets too many downvotes they get banned for a while…
Unfortunately, the people downvoting don't care. This is on BP though. Their system is terrible.
Load More Replies...You are right with all of the comments? Who tf downvotes all of them?
Load More Replies...cool let me try out *reaches into chest and takes out beating heart of some radom person*
am i taking it for gra-a-a-nted everything that ive been granted
i keep lying awake with these dreams in the dead of the night, cause something don't feel right
Load More Replies...Some of you are being extremely rude and petty by downvoting @random username. Comments don't deserve a downvote because you're annoyed. Chill out and move to the next comment.
Dude, she doesn't have issues, she has a subscription.
Tu ne connais pas le fonctionnement toi de BP ? Keep cool, te prends pas la tête, ça va bien se passer ;)
Load More Replies...Does put a new meaning to the phrase, "he died doing what he loves best".
out of frame is the gatorade on his nightstand that is juuuuust out of reach.........
ALRIGHT PEOPLE. PLEASE stop downvoting @random username. They have said absolutely nothing wrong or offensive and there is no reason for them to have a bunch of downvotes. If you don't agree with the comment then just MOVE ON. Thank you.
Hey, random username! I know lots of people are downvoting your comments. But I think it's cool that you're obviously interested in both art and history. How did you get to learn so much about it? It's a fascinating subject :)
Load More Replies...stop downvoting this random uswername its getting weird like hes not being mean he will get banned its not funny upvote him now
Can we all give a round of applause to random username's dedication to give us a fact-check of the pictures in their almost legendary quest to prove that most of them are not in fact medieval? Sure it's pedantic af but I can't help but be impressed with the effort. I would have appreciated painters' and paintings' names, too.
Idk, but I think they did that for the pedantism. If it was about the info, they'd given us the painters' names as you said - THIS effort I'd appreciate, lol.
Load More Replies...If you are going to say specifically "medieval" paintings, please learn what medieval is!
Titles at BoredPanda are complete nonsense half of the time, I find it quite annoying too. How hard is it to choose a title that is actually correct?
Load More Replies...That sure was a post, right? I may or may not have enjoyed it. Either way my heart will go on.
Looking at some of these paintings is kinda reassuring. It proves that totally screwed up people isn't a recent phenomena.
Can we all give a round of applause to random username's dedication to give us a fact-check of the pictures in their almost legendary quest to prove that most of them are not in fact medieval? Sure it's pedantic af but I can't help but be impressed with the effort. I would have appreciated painters' and paintings' names, too.
Idk, but I think they did that for the pedantism. If it was about the info, they'd given us the painters' names as you said - THIS effort I'd appreciate, lol.
Load More Replies...If you are going to say specifically "medieval" paintings, please learn what medieval is!
Titles at BoredPanda are complete nonsense half of the time, I find it quite annoying too. How hard is it to choose a title that is actually correct?
Load More Replies...That sure was a post, right? I may or may not have enjoyed it. Either way my heart will go on.
Looking at some of these paintings is kinda reassuring. It proves that totally screwed up people isn't a recent phenomena.
