Aphrodite
Graphite on illustration board
10” x 15”
2012
Private collection
Graphite on illustration board
10” x 15”
2012
Private collection
Collins' intimate portrait of Aphrodite, the ancient Greek goddess of love, beauty and fertility, marks an inflection point in his artistic trajectory. It is Collins' final, major work from his youth, having been completed when he was only nineteen. The drawing is the culmination of Collins' youthful focus on graphite, photorealism and studies of classical masterpieces. It is also the final such piece created before Collins transitioned his practice to painting and what has become his signature pop subject matter and aesthetic.
Despite its youthful origins, "Aphrodite" foreshadows Collins' later work, which explores themes of beauty and the Sublime. The sculpture on which the drawing is based is a torso fragment of an ancient Roman copy of the "Aphrodite of Knidos" by legendary, ancient Greek sculptor, Praxiteles. The latter's iconic sculpture was the first, life-sized female nude and it became a proportional canon for the female form. Praxiteles' sculpture represents an ideal, like its subject, rather than an individual (although, it may have been modelled on a courtesan named Phryne). Collins' later work, such as his "Model Citizens" series, in which he paints portraits of models, also engages with notions of feminine aesthetic standards.
In "Aphrodite", one may also observe Collins' continued interest in using dramatic lighting evoke feelings of mystery, wonder, and awe, consistent with the Sublime. Collins considered initially setting his subject against a dark background to highlight further her contours but decided ultimately that graphite would not yield the desired effect.
