Elihu Vedder, born New York City - (Illustration for Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám) Omar's Horoscope - 1883-1884 - T-Shirt

This is Elihu Vedder's illustration for FitzGerald's translation of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, drawn in 1883–1884, with dancing figures crowning a sheet of verse.

Visual Elements & Composition

A group of draped female figures in motion raises their arms to link a garland across the top of the sheet, their long robes billowing and crossing as several turn toward the centre. Trailing ivy and grapevine climb both margins, with clusters of grapes and leaves picked out in pale highlights. Below, a rectangular panel carries three numbered stanzas, 34 to 36, in calligraphic lettering. The drawing is worked in pencil, chalk and white highlight on a dark ground, with a tan panel setting the text apart. Near black and taupe dominate, lifted by pale cream.

Meaning & Symbolism

The verses describe a fate shaped before birth, a clay of dust and soul in which the vine has struck a fibre that clings to the speaker's being. Wine and vine are the poem's central images, standing for ecstasy, forgetfulness and a brief flash of truth found in the tavern rather than the temple. The title, Omar's Horoscope, points to the astrological language of the stanzas, where fate is traced across the heavens. The dancing figures carry the tavern's revelry, while the haloed heads at the lower corners suggest a company of onlookers caught up in the same destiny. Vedder, an American painter who worked largely in Rome, made the series for the 1884 Boston edition of the translation.

Wearing the Artwork

A tee carries its design across the chest and moves with the body, so the figures seem to turn and dance as the wearer does. The verse panel sits at a reading distance from the wearer's own eye level, and the dense linework reads as texture from across a room. The vine and garland run the width of the shirt, giving the composition room to breathe on a garment worn every day.