A modest Challenge

Posted on by Sarah A. Hoyt

As you know…. probably…. I’m on my way to Liberty con. This year I decided not to drive myself and others insane trying to charge the laptop in the car. It draws too much power and the results are at best frustrating.

So I decided to challenge you with the painter who launched a thousand memes…. of himself.

Joseph Ducreux was a French painter active in the latter part of the 18th century — he was a portraitist in the court of Louis XVI and continued his career after the French Revolution. But Ducreux is increasingly remembered for his series of self-portraits that were surprisingly informal for the age in which they were painted. To contemporary eyes, they almost seem to have been painted for use in memes, a purpose for which they certainly have been used.

You know him for this one here in a goofy take on lyrics:

BUT he did so much more. And most of it silly.

They just about cry out to be memed, but I can’t do it. Could you guys give it a try? That way I can enjoy the results when I get to the hotel:

And of course the template for the well known one:

See you this evening!

33 thoughts on “A modest Challenge”

    3. As an artist, I can say that the answer is “because he wanted to.”

      Also looks like he had a lot of fun with them, which he probably didn’t get with paying customers who just wanted a danged portrait, thank you very much.

      Like

      Reply

      1. Yes.

        I have been trying to figure out how to say that obvious thing.

        He entered them in a bunch of yearly contests, and apparently was not doing so to please others.

        Also, he seems to have gotten some very good practice, because his portrait of Franklin makes me feel like I have learned something about Franklin that I had not before.

        Like

        Reply

  7. Okay, not sure if I could post images here, I elected to whip up a few memes at Sarah’s request (thanks, Sarah, for the excuse to postpone working this morning, heh!) and posted them on a page at my own site: https://bethhomicz.com/friends

    Never did any real meming before, so feedback welcome… please be gentle with me! ;~) And enjoy if you’re so inclined!

    Like

    Reply

  8. At some point, if our paths ever actually cross, I’ll have to introduce you to Boox tablets. They use eInk displays and are functionally an Android computer. Which does lead to their biggest downside: they use Word for Android…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  10. #1: “No, really, I’m interested in your story. This is my gape-mouthed excitement face.”

    #3: I want to go with “Be vewy, vewy quiet. I’m hunting Piwgwims,” but it seems self-defeating.

    #4: “You fit five of them in your what?”

    #6: “You fit five of them in my what?”

    And that’s more suggestive than I was hoping I’d need to be today. Gee, thanks.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  12. I have no notion of how to create a meme image.

    But the last two should be combined into one – captions “You made me into a meme???” and “You da’ bomb!!!”

    I have the feeling that he would have appreciated it.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. I’ve been using imgflip for this. You can pull up any meme template, and the option to upload a new image will be near the top of the page. (Open one of the images Sarah posted in a new tab, copy the URL, paste it into the upload dialog, and Bob’s yer uncle)

      https://imgflip.com/i/av85ch

      Like

      Reply

  13. Can’t power the laptop while driving?

    Consult with an RV shop about installing the proper wiring. Likely also need a bigger alternator and battery.

    Also gives you an option for working through an extended power outage.

    Thus probably a way to spend it in a tax-advantaged manner.

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment