Caricature with a Bottle 

Adalbert Erdeli sketched "Caricature with a Bottle" using graphite pencil on paper. It’s a quick, gestural drawing, prioritizing the artist’s immediate expression over meticulous detail. The pencil lines are the work, their varying pressure creating depth and shadow. Graphite, a readily available material, democratizes art-making, moving it away from exclusive, costly media like oils or bronze. The roughness of the paper adds texture and tactile qualities, giving a raw and immediate quality, like a fleeting moment captured on a napkin in a cafe. Erdeli's choice of materials speaks to a broader social context. During the interwar period, many artists turned to accessible materials and techniques, a rejection of academic traditions. The drawing shows the relationship between the artwork and the modes of production or capitalism through its social context. The amount of work involved in the production process is minimal. This drawing prompts us to consider the value we place on different kinds of artistic labor, and how that value is assigned.