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

This is a monochrome drawing of a tavern scene set around a poet's grave, built from graphite, charcoal and white chalk on a grey-brown ground.

Visual Elements & Composition

Three figures lean over a wall at the top of the sheet, framed by grapevines and clusters of grapes. A young woman with a fillet in her hair gazes upward at left, while a second woman rests her head on her arm beside a bearded man in a draped mantle. At the centre sits a rectangular panel of calligraphic verse, numbered 91 and 92. Below it, a carved stone block shows a long-necked wine vessel with a curling handle and wavy lines of liquid, set among ivy. Taupe, near black and pale cream carry the drawing, with a dark border holding it in place.

Meaning & Symbolism

The verses come from Edward FitzGerald's rendering of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. The speaker asks to be washed, wrapped in a living leaf and laid in a garden, so that vine-wine might spring from his buried ashes and catch the passing believer unaware. The vine over the tomb and the carved wine vessel give that request its setting: the grave becomes a source of drink. The attentive figures above stand for the company of the tavern. Elihu Vedder (1836–1923), an American painter who worked largely in Rome, made this drawing for the 1884 Boston edition of FitzGerald's translation, published by Houghton, Mifflin.

On the Unisex Heavy Cotton Tee

A drawing this detailed rewards close looking, and a tee keeps it close. The composition reads the way the page does, with the figures at the top, the verse at the centre and the tomb below, so the wearer carries a whole scene rather than a single motif. The sheet's soft tonal range suits a garment that is worn and seen at arm's length.