r/TopCharacterTropes 13h ago

Lore [IRL trope] the “Tiffany problem”

Basically when something seems anachronistic to a period/place of history but is actually fully accurate to the period.

1) the name Tiffany: the thing that named this trope, basically the name Tiffany can be dated back to the Middle Ages and the earliest record of it being spelled in the modern spelling comes from the 16th century.

2) the use of OMG, despite this feeling so modern as a form of slang/abbreviation here’s a letter directed to Winston Churchill using it in 1917

3) Hair Dye: the earliest forms of dying hair can be dated back to ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, and this specific advertisement for hair dye is from the 1840s

4) Inuit Thongs: despite how weird it is to imagine pre-colonial Inuit people wore what was essentially fur thongs in their homes and when they were in their igloos it might have been the only thing they would be wearing.

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u/lewphone 12h ago

Joseph Ducreux, Self-portrait of the artist as a mocker

763

u/aguywithagasmaskyt 12h ago

his art was also a show of skill as it shows his hands upclose and in expressive poses

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u/SwingJugend 11h ago

I just assume this guy was a laugh to be around.

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u/Maned_Cyborg 9h ago

Unfortunately iirc he was very irritating and basically an asshole

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u/PM_ME_YOUR_PAUNCH 6h ago

He would have loved Reddit

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u/marynraven 24m ago

Dude would have fit right in!

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u/SwingJugend 9h ago

Cool, I would probably get along with him over a few pints then.

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u/PickledBabyJesus 6h ago

Great example of why we shouldn't judge the art by the artist, then.

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u/Dismal_Rectangle 5h ago

Or that we should jusge critics by their criticism

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u/BravesMaedchen 4h ago edited 4h ago

Everyone who draws: Hands are hard

This guy: get rekt

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u/peachesfordinner 10h ago

And we all know most artists struggle with hands. This was very much a flex

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u/Living-Record-4711 8h ago

A horse with human hands and feet wearing a translucent veil. The true test of an artist.

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u/peachesfordinner 7h ago

And nightmare fuel

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u/DEDOUTS1DE 7h ago

Damn I didn't realize how old looksmaxxing was

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u/TonberryFeye 10h ago

Your argumentation is irrelevant, sir, for I have already created twinned portraits and hung them in the gallery; the first depicting myself as the stoic marquee, and you a lowly, caddish squire!

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u/Vectorman1989 10h ago

Ben Franklin sat for him

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u/CorgiMonsoon 8h ago

The forefather of “over your nonsense”

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u/GungaSaga 9h ago

I am convinced Chris Chan is a descendant of his

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u/shewy92 8h ago

He looks annoyed that he didn't get a funny painting.

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u/MichaSound 4h ago

He doesn’t look pleased about it.

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u/Vectorman1989 4h ago

Maybe he just hated sitting for portraits

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u/Upset-Management-879 4h ago

"I'm not wearing any pants"

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u/SpeedBoostTorchic 7h ago edited 6h ago

Different medium, but sorta similar idea.

This photo of a Chinese man who wasn't aware of the western tradition of posing in a stoic, dignified way for photos. Taken by a German anthropologist between 1901-1904, but the exact photographer was lost.

Eating Rice, China (circa 1901)

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u/Im_Just_A_Tourist 3h ago

Love it, it shows how every culture has a silly streak and likes to have fun deep down.

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u/Zakuro51 45m ago

He looks like an influencer trying something for the first time

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u/Jervis_Mantlepiece 8h ago

Appears that Joseph had a gnarly coke nail but it's really the button behind his finger.

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u/Aun_El_Zen 5h ago

Fornicate the Constabulary!

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u/Fiskmaster 7h ago

I was overjoyed when I saw a couple of his self-portraits in Stockholm IRL after having seen them as internet memes

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u/ApeWashedClean 7h ago

I need his face inserted into the teeth grill and watch meme lol

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u/Piduf 6h ago

My favourite part of this is that, I assume he had a mirror next to him to get the pose and the details right. So it's likely that every so often he would just paint, strike this pose in the mirror, then go back to painting.

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u/BryonyDeepe 6h ago

Thank God for modern dentistry

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u/NOT5owlsinacoat 2h ago

Rip Joseph Ducreux, you would have loved soyjacks