Painting around Mount Zion

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In a 'New York Times' advertisement, Dine came across a photograph of a man’s bathrobe with the human model airbrushed out. This image inspired him to create a number of robe paintings during the mid-1960s. The robe is frequently identified as a stand-in for the artist, a symbol of masculinity and a generalized self portrait. 'Painting around Mount Zion', one of few robe pictures created during the late 1970s, was produced during a three-month sojourn in Jerusalem. The location of Dine’s studio near Mount Zion gave rise to the painting’s title. The artist was enchanted by the intensity of the sunlight in the Middle East, which is reflected in the painting’s saturated color. Despite the absence of human figures, the robes serve as potent vehicles for emotional energy.

Keywords

Self portraits
American
Painting
Robe
Contemporary Art