All these motifs are known from other drawing by Thorvaldsen, several of which were earlier than this. An interesting feature here is the combination of mythological and biblical motifs on the same sheet of paper. The figure of Diogenes fascinated Thorvaldsen already while he was studying at the Academy in Copenhagen, but even more so in Rome partly thanks to Winckelmann’s and Zoëga’s works on the collections in the Villa Albani.
