{"slug":"joseph-ducreux","name":"Joseph Ducreux","url":"/templates/joseph-ducreux.jpg","w":555,"h":729,"top":"ARCHAIC VERSION OF RAP LYRIC","bottom":"CONTINUATION IN OLD ENGLISH","description":"An 18th-century painting of a man pointing at you with maximum swagger. Joseph Ducreux is the template for translating modern rap lyrics, slang, and trash talk into the most formal, antiquated English imaginable.","keywords":"joseph ducreux meme, archaic rap meme, old english meme, fancy talk meme, old painting meme, ye olde meme","year":2009,"origin":"The meme uses a real self-portrait by French artist Joseph Ducreux, painted around 1793. Ducreux was known for painting expressive, unconventional portraits, and this one shows him pointing directly at the viewer with a mischievous grin while holding a cane. Internet users discovered the painting around 2009 and began overlaying it with rap lyrics and modern phrases rewritten in exaggerated Elizabethan English. \"Disregard females, acquire currency\" (a translation of a well-known hip-hop lyric) became one of the earliest and most shared examples. The format works because the painting's confident, theatrical pose already looks like an 18th-century rapper dropping bars. For modern-to-old translation humor in a different style, see Boromir's One Does Not Simply (formal phrasing of difficulty). For vintage energy applied differently, see All Your Base Are Belong To Us (bad translation as comedy).","format":"classic","howToMake":["Joseph Ducreux is loaded and pointing at you from 1793, ready to deliver some antiquated bars","Top and bottom text should be a well-known song lyric, catchphrase, or piece of modern slang rewritten in the most formal, archaic English you can manage. The recognition factor is everything; if people can identify the original, the translation is funny","This is a tall portrait image, so text works best as short lines across the top and bottom. The painting itself is detailed, so keep captions positioned at the edges","White Impact with black outlines contrasts well against the dark, warm oil-painting background. The juxtaposition of Impact font over fine art is part of the joke","Bars delivered. Download the painting with your archaic wisdom added, or Copy it to enlighten any group chat with the refined version of whatever song is stuck in your head"],"exampleCaptions":["RELOCATE THYSELF TO THE ESTABLISHMENT","AND PROCURE FOR ME A LIBATION OF GRAIN AND HOPS"],"exampleAltText":"Joseph Ducreux meme translating a modern bar phrase into archaic English","exampleRefreshDate":"2026-03-10","seo":{"aliases":["Archaic Rap Meme","Old English Rap Meme","Joseph Ducreux Painting Meme","Ye Olde Lyrics Meme","Fancy Rap Translation Meme","Ducreux Meme"],"description":"An 18th-century oil painting: a man in a dark hat and olive-brown jacket with a white ruffled collar stands before a dark background. He grips a cane in his left hand and points directly at the viewer with his right index finger. His expression is pure theatrical confidence. A knowing, almost mischievous smile that says he's about to say something and he knows it's going to land. Painted by Joseph Ducreux around 1793, it hung in galleries for centuries before the internet decided it was the perfect vehicle for translating rap lyrics into Shakespearean English.","definition":"An 18th-century self-portrait by French artist Joseph Ducreux, repurposed as the internet's format for translating modern songs, slang, and catchphrases into the most absurdly formal old English possible. The funnier the gap between the original phrasing and the translated version, the better the meme lands. Ducreux's theatrical pointing pose sells the delivery.","useCases":[{"category":"Classic Rap Translations","examples":["Disregard females / Acquire currency (archaic translation of a well-known lyric)","I possess 99 predicaments / However, a lady companion is not among them","Thou shalt not fret regarding a matter of trifling importance / Verily, it is inconsequential","Comport thyself to the dance floor / And commence rhythmic movement forthwith","I arrived, I observed / I vanquished the entirety of the proceedings"]},{"category":"Modern Slang Made Formal","examples":["That statement possesses no falsehood / Not a single fabrication detected (no cap)","This situation is of exceeding quality / It strikes with considerable force (this slaps)","I find myself in a heightened state of emotional investment / Verily, I am no longer jesting (I'm dead serious)","Observe this fellow, he conducts himself with considerable ostentation / His confidence is formidable (he's flexing)","I must vacate the premises / The hour grows exceedingly late and my carriage awaits (I gotta bounce)"]},{"category":"Everyday Demands","examples":["Relinquish unto me the apparatus for channel selection / Or face my considerable displeasure (give me the remote)","Cease thy consumption of mine provisions / The larder was recently replenished at great personal expense (stop eating my food)","Extinguish the luminaries upon thy departure / The coffers shall not bear further electrical expenditure (turn off the lights)","Respond to mine electronic correspondence / I am cognizant that thou hast perused it (answer my text)","Vacate the chamber of bathing / Others await their ablutions with diminishing patience (get out of the bathroom)"]},{"category":"Workplace Formality","examples":["I shall attend this assembly / However, I shall contribute naught of substance to the discourse (this meeting could have been an email)","Per mine previous correspondence / Which thou didst clearly neglect to peruse (as per my last email)","I shall accomplish this task with haste / Upon the morrow, or perhaps the morrow after that (I'll get to it later)","The hour of departure hath arrived / I bid thee farewell and good fortune with the remaining labors (I'm logging off)","I possess concerns regarding the timeline / Which is to say, it is not achievable by any mortal means (the deadline is unrealistic)"]},{"category":"Food & Drink Orders","examples":["Procure for me sustenance of the fried variety / Wrapped in a flour vessel with accompanying sauces (get me some tacos)","I desire a caffeinated elixir / Of considerable magnitude, with supplementary portions of cream and sugar (large coffee, extra everything)","Fetch the menu of evening provisions / My hunger hath reached a state most grievous (what's for dinner, I'm starving)","I shall partake of a second portion / Mine appetite recognizes no boundary this eve (I'm getting seconds)","The culinary creation before me is of exceeding temperature / I shall wait, but with great reluctance (the food is too hot)"]},{"category":"Relationship Declarations","examples":["Art thou engaged in courtship / Or might I submit mine candidacy for thy affections (are you single)","Thou hast failed to respond to mine message / The duration of thy silence speaks volumes (you left me on read)","I find thy company most agreeable / Let us convene again at a mutually convenient hour (I had a good time, let's do this again)","Mine affection for thee exceeds all rational measure / Though I shall express this through memes rather than direct speech (I like you a lot)","It is not thee, it is I / (This declaration has always been a falsehood and we both know it)"]},{"category":"Motivational Speeches","examples":["Bestir thyself from thy slumber / Greatness doth not await the indolent (wake up and grind)","Cease the utterance of excuses / And commence the execution of deeds (stop talking, start doing)","Fortune favors the audacious / So conduct thyself with unreasonable boldness (go big or go home)","The obstacles before thee are but trifles / Dispatch them with the vigor of a thousand men (you got this)","They proclaimed it could not be accomplished / Verily, I accomplished it whilst they observed (proved them wrong)"]}]}}