The artwork in question is “Untitled #214,” created by Cindy Sherman in 1989. This piece is part of the “History Portraits” series, produced from 1988 to 1990, and belongs to the Feminist Art movement. Categorized under the genre of photography, the artwork showcases Sherman’s renowned approach to exploring identity, gender roles, and societal norms through staged and constructed images.
The subject of the artwork is a profile view of a figure with striking features, draped in historical attire. The figure’s head is bald towards the back, revealing a stark contrast between the smooth, bare scalp and the remaining tufts of dark hair towards the lower part of the head. This visual composition calls attention to the artifice of representation, a recurring theme in Sherman’s work. The figure’s face, though aligned in a classical portrait profile, exhibits modern touches in its application, hinting at the temporal dissonance that characterizes the “History Portraits” series. Draped in muted fabric that evokes historical costume, the subject simultaneously occupies a space that is both timeless and decidedly constructed, inviting contemplation on the nature of art, history, and identity.
