In 2002, AnnMarie Tornabene began a series entitled The Art History Lesson. inspired by the classics in art, particularly the Italian Renaissance, the Pre-Raphaelites and the Symbolists. The theatrical aspect and allegories that were created in those art works as well as the poses influenced AnnMarie profoundly and wanted to re-create her own tableaux. In the series, her mask features prominently and after many years and several moves, AnnMarie had lost that mask, literally.

In 2019, however, the desire to connect with that mask became strong again. Visiting a local costume shop in Paris, AnnMarie found a copy and both recreated several poses from the original series creating new ones, feeling “reunited” with that mask. Not sure it is the end of it.