How Will They Know?

What is it about old Elizabethan era type artworks that feel so different from modern-day artworks? Sure, people dress a little differently and even look a little different at times, but the main difference would have to be the way in which these people are dressed.

This painting for instance looks rather representative of the era, but with the added text, it has turned this artwork into a masterpiece. Can you imagine if someone wrote something like that to a party these days and actually stole a television? It would be so painfully obvious.