In choosing his sculptural sources, Dine was drawn to single-figure compositions and rarely chose multi-figure groups. He extracted the subject of this drawing, an archer sometimes identified as Paris, Prince of Troy, from the west pediment of the Temple of Aphaia in Aegina (ca. 485–480 BC). Reconstructed at the Glyptothek, Munich, the pediment’s sculptural program depicts the Trojan War and features several figures interacting in battle. Dine chose to omit the overlapping figures in favor of a more concentrated study of the archer.
Jim Dine (b. 1935), Glyptotek Drawing 21, Charcoal and pastel on plastic sheet, Photograph courtesy of The Pace Gallery. © 2011 Jim Dine / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York