This photograph, by the contemporary artist Cindy Sherman, appropriates an image by the seventeenth century Italian painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. Caravaggio’s painting, known as the Sick Bacchus, explores the relationship between cultural narratives, such as classical myths, and the construction of identity. Sherman initially gained recognition for images, her Untitled Film Stills, which stage imaginary movie roles. And, in this work, she restages Caravaggio’s painting in order to further investigate the relationship between appearance and identity. Some images are copyright Cindy Sherman.

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