Rihanna's new "Diamonds" video is basically an homage to body of work (and body).

Rihanna's got nearly 40 videos to her name, and in her "Diamonds" video, on the brink of the release of her seventh studio album, Unapologetic, she's taking a dip into the familiar waters of her own exhaustive oeuvre: Fittingly, "Diamonds," which premiered on MTV, begins with Rihanna floating in an ethereal turquoise body of water. And what ensues is a montage of artistic images that, while cryptic, are, paradoxically, singularly reflective of Rihanna. Stark, startling body shots (those collar bones!) conjure images of Rihanna's breakthrough smash, "Umbrella," scenes of Rihanna running away from an unknown pursuer in the dark evoke the tension of "Disturbia," post-apocalyptic imagery suggest "Run This Town," gorgeous though lonely landscapes elicit her "Where Have You Been" video, a billowy bedroom recalls "California King Bed," and an act of arson suggests "Love The Way You Lie" as well as a destruction of her past.

Watch Rihanna's "Diamonds" video after the jump.

Anthony Mandler essentially tells Rihanna's story through images and symbols she immortalized via her videography -- one horse rescues a fellow equine while she reaches out in need for arms that look (probably) not-coincidentally like Chris Brown's heavily tatted arms. Symbolism. You do the math.

"Diamonds" culminates in a sobering high and wide shot of a solitary Rihanna floating toward the unknown, part crucifixion, part baptism, in a pensive self-tribute to her professional -- and personal -- past.

+ Watch Rihanna's "Diamonds" video.

Photo credit: Island/Def Jam