Jim Dine

(American, born in Cincinnati, Ohio, 1935) 
The Glyptotek Drawings, 1987–88.
Charcoal on Mylar. 17 3/4 x 15 1/2 inches (45 x 39.4 cm) 
Promised gift of the artist to The Morgan Library & Museum.

Photograph courtesy of PaceWildenstein.
© 2009 Jim Dine / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York 

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This series of forty works on paper known as The Glyptotek Drawings* was inspired by Greek and Roman sculpture, primarily from the Glyptothek Museum in Munich.

The works combine a rich variety of media, including ink, charcoal, crayon, and paint, applied in broad gestures, resulting in a distinctive, expressive style. Occasionally the artist rubbed and spread the material with an eraser or with his fingers. The subjects include ancient busts, full-length sculptures, statuettes, fragments, and reliefs. Some, such as the Barberini Faun, the Boy with a Goose, and the Wounded Trojan from the Temple of Aphaia at Aegina, are well known.

In creating the Glyptotek series, Jim Dine says he was drawn to the imperfections of the sculptures that reveal the passage of time: chipped noses, missing limbs, irregular surfaces. Most of the drawing subjects are barely contained within the edges of the sheets, a device that underscores their monumentality. The strong interplay of light and shadow and the sweeping strokes that convey the physical engagement of the artist vests these images with a romantic feeling, making them haunting modern visions of the ancient world.

*The artist prefers this spelling for his work.