I have always gone through school being led to believe that the Renaissance was a time for artists. People often speak of the works that were created during this period as masterpieces. Unfortunately, I have come across a new trend that might just really upset those types of people. Memes have become an explosive force on the internet, driving sites such as reddit. A meme is nothing more than an image with text placed over it, but the captions are always funny and they relate to the lighter side of life. Some of them include popular song lyrics and allusions to popular culture. Usually they are used on images of celebrities, popular characters on television, or even just viral photos of randoms, but now the memes have evolved. Cheers to ruining classical pieces of art with 21st century comedy.

Nicki Minaj lyrics get placed on the Mona Lisa. I think that pretty much speaks for itself. This was definitely the cover art to Mona's mixtape way back when and Nicki just didn't think that we would notice her use of the same words in Super Bass.

The internet has absolutely no dignity, but I am certainly not complaining. First Nicki, and now Jay Z. Truth be told, the caption fits the painting particularly well.

Outkast's hit single, Sorry Ms. Jackson, has now been mated with Salvador Dali's Persistence of Memory. Talk about surrealism.

This image is a bit more aggressive than the others because it is depicting mindless cannibalism, but eating healthily is indeed a struggle. Some wrestle with high cholesterol, others with sugar addiction, but I suppose in the year 1819, Francisco de Goya was pre-occupied with curbing urges for human flesh.

Ecce Homo was a classic fresco of Jesus that an 83-year-old amateur painter decided to restore. Needless to say, her efforts (shown on the right) failed miserably and went viral shortly after in 2013.

King David, painted by Gerard van Honthorst, just got back from the Versace store, so clearly his next move was to grab his harp and recite the popular rap single Versace by The Migos, as many did in the early half of the 16th century.

I am not exactly sure if combining M.C. Hammer and Jesus is the best thing that has ever happened, or the absolute worst. Nevertheless, the lyrics to Can't Touch This certainly give the painting a little extra flare--or maybe that is just me imagining the Son of God in reflective golden parachute pants.

I present to you, Sandro Botticelli's Birth of Venus featuring Beyoncé.

To cap off my revolutionary art gallery, I have saved the best for last. Here is none other than the legendary Grumpy Cat, painted into Vincent Van Goh's Starry Night. I have a feeling that a fine arts major somewhere in the world just smashed their keyboard to bits in outrage.

The next time that you walk into an art gallery or museum, these images will surely stick with you, regardless of whether or not you genuinely found them humorous. Since they are so well known for being idolized and praised as invaluable pieces of art, it is ironic that they would end up meshed with much less sacred aspects of popular culture. Impressive as the originals may be, the new versions have a special allure of their own.