Narrator

Curator, Eva Respini

Eva Respini

This gallery presents a selection from Sherman’s series, the ‘History Portraits.’ With the exception of just a few photographs, they are not based on actual Old Master paintings. But they refer to the genre, in general. All of the Old Master painters were men. And here we have Sherman, who is a woman, not just posing, but also taking on the role of the Old Master.

Sherman was inspired much more by the reproduction of Old Master painting in books, rather than by going to the churches or museums. Since she mainly worked through reproductions. I think it’s really about a removal from the original referent. It’s about a representation of a representation of a representation.

Sherman has created her costumes and backdrops with mostly contemporary materials. She was using whatever was lying around or whatever she found in the flea market.

Immediately when you see these pictures, you know they’re fake. You see the ill-fitting wigs, these prosthetic noses that are not quite fitted properly. You see the makeup that’s a little bit too pancake. These are less than graceful portraits of nobility. And they’re presented with a kind of mocking nod and wink. And this is all very intentional on the part of the artist, to reveal the artifice of photography, and the artifice of painting.