Obelisk Grave Monument, No. 16 1840 - 1880

This is Alexander Maxwell’s "Obelisk Grave Monument, No. 16", made in the 19th century with graphite on paper. The drawing shows the design for a grave marker, resembling the ancient Egyptian obelisks, but here intended for a Victorian cemetery. The medium is simple: graphite lines, carefully delineating the stone structure in great detail. The texture is smooth, imitating polished stone. Though it is just a design, consider the labor that would have been required to produce this monument. It would have been quarried, transported, carved, and erected - all demanding skilled work. Here, the artist’s hand and the craftsman’s labor combine. The drawing and the designed object are inherently linked to social issues of labor, class, and consumption. Even a grave can be seen as a luxury item when rendered in costly materials, and demonstrates how making and materials embed cultural meaning within an artwork.