People have been making pictures of things for a long time. They were made by drawing crazy beasts, animals, and situations. A wise man once said “paintings are just slow memes,” and looking at the visual culture of the past proves this point. The visual codes of paintings make reference to politics, subcultures, and the viewer’s affiliations with them. And paintings participate in an ongoing tradition with each other, just like memes. Also, both memes and paintings tend to be two-dimensional surfaces that mess with out expectations of what we usually see. Reddit's /r/trippinthroughtime collects and reposts the most memeish paintings out there, celebrating the people and animals in them who have weird expressions that look like “they just dropped acid.” It's the best kind of history meme. The past is a lot weirder than you might expect, perhaps even as weird as the present.

He Just Loves People

Nothing like taking your large reptile for a walk on a sunny day in the Middle Ages.

Oh, Bro…

William Was An Eloquent Man

Diligent

This is how we all should be when we hit the books.

Timeless Vibe

He Will Learn

So often, you just have to take your parents at their word about something.

Listen To The Captain

Be Here Now

Everybody is present with each other sharing this collective experience of killing a king. Old school.

His Gesture Says It All

Poor Washington, he just wants us to think this through again.

Fashions Change