One of Joseph Ducreux's strikingly modern self-portraits, which depict him in exaggerated, mime-like postures not at all common in either portraits or self-portraits at the time. Such meme-ready images have made Ducreux’s paintings popular on social media. They seem to have been virtually waiting, through the centuries, for witty captions. They’re also remarkable artworks of their time — evidence of Ducreux’s enthusiasm for the study of physiognomy and the expressive capacities of the human body and face. (National Museum, Sweden)