Author: Steve Melcher

Antonio Ermolao Paoletti, Italian

“Hmm, I Like It But I Don’t Love It. Maybe I’ll Lease First,” Before 1885

Oil on board

Jean-Louis van Kuyck, Dutch

“Sure, At This Job You Have To Deal With a Lot of Horsesh*t, But Hay, It’s a Stable Living,” 1865

Oil on canvas

Le Prince, French

Tyler Was Now 22, But His Mom Still Insisted On Tying His Swords To His Wrist So He Wouldn’t Lose Them, 1830

Oil on canvas

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, French

“Hey, Ladies — Please Tell Your Friend Tarzan There That I Appreciate His Help With the Winemaking, But He Has To Stop Swinging From the Grapevines,” ca. 1865

Oil on canvas

Adriaan de Lelie, Dutch

“I Used To Make a Decent Profit, But Now I’m Being Undercut By That New Guy Walm Down the Street. You Know His Store — Walm Art?,” Between 1794-95

Oil on panel

Georges Rouget, French

“Guess What? I Invented These New Cloth Underpants That Babies Can Poop In Without Making a Mess. I Call Them ‘Nappies’ — Short For ‘Napoleon Panties,'” 1812

Oil on canvas

Giuseppe Collignon, Italian

“I Don’t Know Why He Always Insists On Driving This Thing. We’re Never Going To Find Parking,” 1814

Ceiling mural

Joseph Franque, French

That Look When You Can’t Remember Where You Parked Your Army, ca. 1812

Oil on canvas