Architectuurstudie, mogelijk een tempelinterieur 1921 - 1922

Isaac Israels made this study of a temple interior with graphite on paper. It’s all about the artist’s process. You can see the architecture emerging with each stroke of the pencil. The texture is built up through layers of hatching, creating a sense of depth and volume. The density of the graphite varies, with darker areas suggesting shadows and lighter areas hinting at the play of light across the surfaces. I keep wondering what kind of pencil he used - probably a softer one. The vertical marks on the right look like they might have been made with the side of the pencil, rubbed in to create a blocky effect. This reminds me of Piranesi's architectural fantasies, although Israels’s study is more about the act of seeing and recording than creating a fantastical world. It's like he is saying, “Here is what I saw, and here is how I tried to capture it.” Art, in the end, is a conversation, an ongoing exchange of ideas across time.