Moustaches: They Can Really Grow On You

In college my roommates and I used to watch Jeopardy all the time. (I was super cool. Super.) I may even know not one, but two people who were on Jeopardy! Since then, I haven’t been able to watch as much as I’d like, but you better believe I tuned in last night for the first of the JeopardyGOAT episodes. It did not disappoint! Of course, every episode of Jeopardy now is just a little heartbreaking because of Alex Trebek’s cancer diagnosis. But he’s such a champ. I think it goes without saying HE is the Jeopardy GOAT.

Though Alex Trebek doesn't have his moustache anymore, I will forever picture him with it. In honor of our favorite trivia hero, here are some famous pieces of art featuring moustaches.

Hand on my heart, I thought this was Jack Sparrow at first.

I absolutely love the clarity of this self-portrait by Gustave Courbet! Plus, it is incredibly relatable. I feel like I have this wild-eyed, hands to hair in freak-out mode look, at least a hundred times a day. We're out of coffee, we're running late, we forgot a hockey stick, the guinea pigs are loose, etc. etc.

What's better than one moustache in a painting? TWO moustaches in a painting!

It's another self-portrait! Paul Gaugin painted himself sporting a low handlebar moustache avec goatee. He is channeling his inner Jean Valjean in this painting to signify his feeling outcast from the Parisan art society. The painting was part of an agreement between he and his buddies Vincent van Gogh and Emile Bernard (that's him on the wall!) to do self-portraits emulating Japanese printmaking.

I moustache you your thoughts on waxing.

You had to know I wasn't going to do a blog post on moustaches and not feature our girl Frida Kahlo. She did this self-portrait in 1940, after her divorce from Diego Rivera, with whom she had a crazy tumultuous relationship. She was in tremendous physical pain during the time of this painting, and had endured about 35 surgeries since she was in an accident at age 18. This portrait shows her enduring the pain with a stoic grace. Much like one might endure waxing and plucking facial hair.