Self-portrait in Water
Artist
Robert Stivers
(American, born 1953)
Date1991 (printed 2013)
Mediumgelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 18 1/2 × 18 1/2 in. (47 × 47 cm)
Mat: 22 × 22 in. (55.9 × 55.9 cm)
Mat: 22 × 22 in. (55.9 × 55.9 cm)
ClassificationsPhotograph
Credit LineGift of Fred R. Kline, 2013
Object number2013.46.4
DescriptionOverall field of water with male figure at center, facing viewer, with body mostly submerged. The left chest, upper arm, and face are visible. He is wearing a light-colored garment with long sleeves, possibly a straitjacket.eMuseum Notes
In this self-portrait, the artist depicts himself as a drowned man. Whatever events of distress or struggle may have preceded this scenario, the figure is now shown at peace, embraced and gently buoyed by the water. The picture recalls the French photographer Hippolyte Bayard’s famous picture from 1840, Self-portrait as a Drowned Man, which is believed to be the first staged photograph.
On View
Not on view![Self-Portrait (Color Series) [unique]](/internal/media/dispatcher/15509/thumbnail)
![Skull (Color Series) [unique]](/internal/media/dispatcher/15516/thumbnail)
