You may know Joseph Ducreux as an innovative, eccentric French painter who defied the rules of portraiture of his time with unusually expressive self-portraits. If you’re a denizen of Internet message boards, you more likely know him as the crazy old-timey guy whose picture appears next to highly formalized rap lyrics.
Examples: “I notice a steady increase in room temperature / I suggest removal of garments” [“It’s Getting Hot in Here”]; “Trousers upon the floor, trousers upon the floor / thou hast the appearance of a jester with thy trousers upon the floor.” [“Pants on the Ground.”]
The ever-helpful Internet scholars behind Know Your Meme, who have previously turned their rapier-like pens to the examination of Mssr. Ducreux’s work, have today fixt the penetrating, eaglelike gaze of their camera upon the Ducreux meme. You may find the fruit of their labors at once amusing and informative:
(Know Your Meme via Urlesque)
