The Anachronic Madonna Lactans: Impersonations of the Nursing Virgin by Cindy Sherman, Catherine Opie, and Vanessa Beecroft

This article examines Cindy Sherman’s (1989), Catherine Opie’s (2004), and Vanessa Beecroft’s or (2006) in relation to the medieval and Renaissance artworks these photos quote and re-instantiate: Jean Fouquet’s (1452–1455); Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s (1325–1335) and Leonardo da Vinci’s (1490s); and Tino di Camaino’s (1321) and Jan van Eyck’s (1436), respectively. This juxtaposition — framed by reference to Alexander Nagel’s and Christopher Wood’s concept of “anachronism” and to Aby Warburg’s notion of the Pathosformel — helps us ask new questions and gain new insights about the “old masters” under discussion.