Toren van Babel 1842

Jean Michel Ruyten made this drawing, Tower of Babel, using graphite on paper. The drawing’s hazy quality is typical of this medium, as is the potential for infinite adjustments. Look closely, and you’ll notice how the material informs the image. The artist's use of graphite allows for fine details in the crowd of people and the structure of the tower, while also conveying a sense of atmospheric perspective. The softness of the graphite lends itself well to creating texture, and the drawing captures the rough, unfinished nature of the Tower of Babel as described in the Bible. But it also tells us something about the social context in which Ruyten was working, in the 19th century. This was a time of immense building projects, and the exploitation of workers to realize them. By representing the Tower of Babel, an ancient symbol of hubris, Ruyten may be critiquing such projects, and the labor required to realize them. So, when we consider the relationship between material, process, and social context, we can begin to understand the full meaning of the drawing.