Abstract
This article considers the parallels that exist between Dutch genre painting of the seventeenth century and early work by American photographer Cindy Sherman. Through direct comparison of specific examples of works by Jan Steen, Frans van Mieris and Dirck Hals to several Untitled Film Stills by Sherman, a number of meaningful connections become evident. Beyond the striking similarities that occur in terms of theatrical presentation and visual presence, these works also share a relationship of mutual respect between artists and audiences that is enacted through the modes of popular culture, didactic potentialities and deliberately ambiguous narrative structures that leave interpretation open-ended. These images attest to a sense of affinity between artist and viewer, who partake in a shared culture of daily experience and vernacular sources.
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