Hauu! You must login or signup first!

Michelangelo at 26, Bernini at 23

Added a day ago / Updated a day ago
Cover4

Submission   2,509

Part of a series on Michelangelo Was Only 24 Years Old. [View Related Entries]

Post humorously subverting the Michelangelo at 26, Bernini at 23 to make a joke about Hans Moleman from The Simpsons.
Post humorously subverting the "Michelangelo at 26, Bernini at 23" post to make a joke about Dexter.
A mememaker compares his monumental achievement at 15 years old to those of Michelangelo at the age of 26 and Bernini at the age of 23.
Artist compares his achievements to those of Michelangelo at the age of 26 and Bernini at the age of 23.
AREA MAN IN YOUR AREA @laptopmicdrop 3 everyone looks at this and goes "wow so talented" which true, this is insane, but nobody looks at their ages and goes "huh, maybe hyperrealism can actually be learned pretty quickly if you do nothing but carve stone for a few years" Art Gallery Art Gallery @X_ArtGallery • Jan 18 Michelangelo at 26 yo Bernini at 23 yo 12:07 AM ⚫ Jan 20, 2025 6.7M Views . ...
A meme humorously misinterpreting the "Michelangelo at 26, Bernini at 23" post
View All 16 Images

Navigation
About • Origin • Spread • Various Examples • Search Interest • External References • Recent Images • Recent Videos

About

Michelangelo at 26, Bernini at 23 refers to a series of social media posts parodying a tweet about Renaissance sculptors Michelangelo and Bernini creating some of their best works at a relatively young age. In memes, the post is captioned with various jokes, such as the personal achievements of modern artists and esports players being likened to those of the two sculptors. The format is similar to the Michelangelo Was Only 24 Years Old meme, which went viral in November 2019.

Origin

On January 18th, 2025, the X[1] account @X_ArtGallery posted close-up photographs of parts of two sculptures: David by Michelangelo, started when the artist was 26 years old and finished when he was 29, and The Abduction of Proserpina by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, finished when he was 23 years old. The post (shown below) received over 164.4 million views, 22,000 reposts and 92,000 likes in 10 days. The account previously made the same post several times in 2024.[2][3]

The original "Michelangelo at 26 yo, Bernini at 23 yo" post that spawned a meme in January 2024.

On January 18th, 2025, X[4] user @_Abelard_ posted the earliest discovered meme based on the template, a caption meme humorously subverting the meaning of the post that gained over 27,000 reposts and 428,000 likes in 10 days (shown below).

A meme humorously misinterpreting the "Michelangelo at 26, Bernini at 23" post

Spread

In the following days, the post became a prevalent subject of caption memes, with users quoting the post with comparisons, often humorous, to various modern works and achievements.

For example, on January 21st, 2025, X[5] user @SantanaelChan posted a Chainsaw Man meme that garnered over 780 reposts and 11,000 likes in one week (shown below).

Artist compares his achievements to those of Michelangelo at the age of 26 and Bernini at the age of 23.

On January 22nd, 2025, X[6] user @LadPsycho captioned the post with the Elmo Freestyle meme, writing, "Duwap Kaine at 9." The post (shown below) received over 3,000 reposts and 30,000 likes in one week.

The format maintained popularity on X / Twitter through late January 2025.

Various Examples

Post humorously subverting the "Michelangelo at 26, Bernini at 23" post to make a joke about Dexter.
A compares Phineas and Ferb's achievement at 10 years old to those of Michelangelo at the age of 26 and Bernini at the age of 23.
A mememaker compares his monumental achievement at 15 years old to those of Michelangelo at the age of 26 and Bernini at the age of 23.

Search Interest

External References

[1] X – @X_ArtGallery

[2] X – @X_ArtGallery

[3] X – @X_ArtGallery

[4] X – @_Abelard_

[5] X – @SantanaelChan

[6] X – @LadPsycho

Share Pin

Recent Images 16 total

View All Images

Recent Videos 4 total

View All Videos

Load 17 Comments
0
Michelangelo at 26 Bernini at 23 meme example.

Michelangelo at 26, Bernini at 23

Part of a series on Michelangelo Was Only 24 Years Old. [View Related Entries]

Updated Jan 28, 2025 at 12:40PM EST by Zach.

Added Jan 28, 2025 at 04:53AM EST by Philipp.

PROTIP: Press 'i' to view the image gallery, 'v' to view the video gallery, or 'r' to view a random entry.

This submission is currently being researched & evaluated!

You can help confirm this entry by contributing facts, media, and other evidence of notability and mutation.

About

Michelangelo at 26, Bernini at 23 refers to a series of social media posts parodying a tweet about Renaissance sculptors Michelangelo and Bernini creating some of their best works at a relatively young age. In memes, the post is captioned with various jokes, such as the personal achievements of modern artists and esports players being likened to those of the two sculptors. The format is similar to the Michelangelo Was Only 24 Years Old meme, which went viral in November 2019.

Origin

On January 18th, 2025, the X[1] account @X_ArtGallery posted close-up photographs of parts of two sculptures: David by Michelangelo, started when the artist was 26 years old and finished when he was 29, and The Abduction of Proserpina by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, finished when he was 23 years old. The post (shown below) received over 164.4 million views, 22,000 reposts and 92,000 likes in 10 days. The account previously made the same post several times in 2024.[2][3]


The original "Michelangelo at 26 yo, Bernini at 23 yo" post that spawned a meme in January 2024.

On January 18th, 2025, X[4] user @_Abelard_ posted the earliest discovered meme based on the template, a caption meme humorously subverting the meaning of the post that gained over 27,000 reposts and 428,000 likes in 10 days (shown below).


A meme humorously misinterpreting the "Michelangelo at 26, Bernini at 23" post

Spread

In the following days, the post became a prevalent subject of caption memes, with users quoting the post with comparisons, often humorous, to various modern works and achievements.

For example, on January 21st, 2025, X[5] user @SantanaelChan posted a Chainsaw Man meme that garnered over 780 reposts and 11,000 likes in one week (shown below).


Artist compares his achievements to those of Michelangelo at the age of 26 and Bernini at the age of 23.

On January 22nd, 2025, X[6] user @LadPsycho captioned the post with the Elmo Freestyle meme, writing, "Duwap Kaine at 9." The post (shown below) received over 3,000 reposts and 30,000 likes in one week.


The format maintained popularity on X / Twitter through late January 2025.

Various Examples


Post humorously subverting the "Michelangelo at 26, Bernini at 23" post to make a joke about Dexter. A compares Phineas and Ferb's achievement at 10 years old to those of Michelangelo at the age of 26 and Bernini at the age of 23. A mememaker compares his monumental achievement at 15 years old to those of Michelangelo at the age of 26 and Bernini at the age of 23.


Search Interest

External References

[1] X – @X_ArtGallery

[2] X – @X_ArtGallery

[3] X – @X_ArtGallery

[4] X – @_Abelard_

[5] X – @SantanaelChan

[6] X – @LadPsycho

Recent Videos 4 total

Recent Images 16 total


Top Comments

Ten Shadows
Delete
Sensitive
Ten Shadows

Stop fixating on young "geniuses". All they did was managed to find something they really liked while they were still too young to know better, and stay focused on it and not get distracted by social media and shit, while they were still young and vigorous and motivated and still had parents and teachers that gave a shit about them. They were students, so they learned. They were still finding their place in the world, and they pulled it off. Nothing special about that.

Spare a thought for the middle-aged and older folks trying to do the same, instead. They have jobs and families. They have bills and responsibilities. They have anxiety and depression and a boatload of bad habits. They have very little time in a day and even less energy to do anything in that time save take a bath, play some video games, or go down to the pub with all the same people they've known for twenty-plus years. They have well and truly settled down into their slot in the world and can't be expected to just drop everything and start over, not anymore.

And some of them manage it anyway. It's a way more of an uphill climb but even the elderly can go and create some real cool shit. That I find worth admiring.

It's never too late.

+38
Reply
Your Uncle Yonkers
Delete
Sensitive
Your Uncle Yonkers

Michelangelo was a one in a generation genius born in the right place in the right time period and trained his entire life in painting and sculpture supported by the Catholic Church which had more wealth then any institution today

Comparing anyone to him in modern times is the most 90 iq mongrel brained take

+34
Reply

+ Add a Comment

Comments (17)


Display Comments

Add a Comment


Suggest a Change   Edit History