The Joseph Ducreux meme features a 1793 self-portrait of the French artist titled 'Portrait de l'artiste sous les traits d'un moqueur.' The image gained internet fame in 2009 when users began pairing it with 'archaic' translations of popular rap and hip-hop lyrics. For example, 'Disregard females, acquire currency' serves as a formal reinterpretation of The Notorious B.I.G.'s 'Get Money.' The humor relies on the juxtaposition of the artist's smug, pointing gesture with overly sophisticated, verbose English. It remains a staple of high-brow internet humor for its creative linguistic gymnastics.