Memeing classical art may be one of the best contemporary attempts to make it interesting and relatable. Sure, it is aesthetically pleasing and masterfully painted, but how relatable can it be when almost all of the portraits were commissioned, featured people of the upper class, and were painfully white-centric?
As Sherry Tseng writes for the 34th Street Magazine, back when the paintings were created, they couldn't really be considered mainstream. "For a work to be mainstream, it has to appeal to the diversity of the audience."
Despite its flaws, classical works of art are still lauded as masterpieces and the standard of beautiful aesthetic. "There is credit due to the skill and ability of the artists in developing distinctive artistic styles and making gains in artistic innovation," Tseng posits. "The problem comes with the name lent to subcategory of 'classical art.' By labeling it as so, we're perpetuating this vision that classical art (aka unrepresentative art) is the ideal. But it's not."
What do you think about turning classical paintings into memes, Pandas? Is it a great way to make them more relatable and accessible? And, if you have a favorite piece of artwork, how would you caption it if you were running a classical art memes page? Let us know in the comments!
And if you'd like to see more from Varkey, check out our previous articles about the page, here and here!
