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The prevalence of meme culture and the ease of access to digital tools means that most of us can create, write, and share memes with thousands of people from practically anywhere in the world. A side effect of this is the constant compulsion to start seeing everything as the template for a meme. 

The very excited-looking “Art Memes!” Instagram page shares hilarious posts combining paintings and more modern captions. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites, and share your thoughts in the comments. 

More info: Instagram 

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While we can debate all day about who invented the meme and why, art itself appears to be as old as humans themselves. Some researchers believe that the absolutely oldest drawings (as opposed to sculptures, monuments, and applied art) date back at least 30,000 years. In other words, on top of searching for shelter, food, and avoiding predators, our ancient ancestors still had a compulsion to create. 

Interestingly, this doesn’t seem to be a one-off case of a stone-age-Michelangelo, archeologists have found evidence of ancient art all over the world, from what is now South Africa, to the usual suspect, when it comes to human development, Egypt

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Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa)
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Divorced, beheaded and died Divorced, beheaded, survived I'm Henry the eighth, I had six sorry wives Some might say I ruined their lives

HI, I'M A SHOUTY MAN
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

(bah bah bah babahbahbambaum) Catherine of Aragon was one, She failed to give me a son, I had to ask her for a divorce, That broke her poor heart, of course, Young Anne Boleyn, she was two, Had a daughter, the best she could do, I said she flirted with some other man, And off for the chop went dear Anne,

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Mara Was… A Surgeon
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Divorced, beheaded, died...divorced, beheaded, survived...but just for you tonight, we're divorced, beheaded, LI-I-IVE

boredkoala
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

🎵 Listen up, let me tell you a story! A story that you think you've heard before 🎵

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Alicia M
Community Member
10 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I read that back in the day the rich would send people to paint portraits of romantic prospects. Sometimes they would ask for full nudes. Sometimes the subject would ask for the artist to be a bit flattering, or forgiving. Just a little info I didn't know before and thought I'd share.

Glenn Cuneo
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm 'enery the Eighth I am 'enry the Eighth I am, I am I got married to the widow next door.....

Crybabyartist
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's funny... how people are so happy to echo all the same rhetoric over and over and no one talks about how his behaviour changed drastically after a sever head injury. All the bad came after he got hit in the head with a log going 40 MPH. Do something really interesting a do a search for pictures of his armor showing the damage. I'm just saying, it's really more complicated than he was just an egotistical bastard.

Wouter Zuidland
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I am very sorry to hear that he got hit on the head with a log, nevertheless I do not see any reason not to echo the same rethoric

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Dark Pearl
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The fact that Henry found Anne of Cleves ugly is so bizarre to me. Like obviously, people of importance will get nicer portraits made but if she looked ANYTHING like her portrait she was WAY prettier than him. If he didn't want her, give me a time machine, I'll marry her

Greenmantle
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

He undoubtably have been quite smelly, with his ulcers and all (+ his ego)

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Lotekguy
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So many lovely necks still burdened with lugging all those heads around.

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In a pre-writing world, who is to say that these paintings didn’t serve as a type of meme? Yes, many memes these days do feature text or captions, but they don’t necessarily have to. Researchers do believe that ancient art mostly had some ritual or aesthetic importance and may have, perhaps, been created by shamans

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Given the tools and materials available, most ancient art was not drawn on a flat surface but carved out of whatever was available. This is likely less a preference and more the fact that this was just what was actually possible. Now that creative “tools” from literal paintbrushes to meme generators are freely available, it’s easy enough to see just how much art we, as a species, are capable of creating. 

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