Groep figuren, mogelijk een menigte 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this drawing of a group of figures, possibly a crowd, at an unknown date, and using an unknown medium, although I'd hazard a guess at charcoal. The thing that gets me here are those marks, and the pressure needed to make them. Israels is *searching* for something. And the crowd emerges from the marks, almost reluctantly. It's like he's trying to work out what the relationship between the individuals might be. The materiality of the medium really speaks to me here. Look how the charcoal sits on the paper and how those horizontal and diagonal marks give the scene a kinetic energy. I can almost feel the nervousness that Israels might have experienced as he drew it; that feeling of uncertainty when you’re trying to find the essence of something. Isn’t it a drawing about feeling unsure? It reminds me of a Cy Twombly, but less romantic and more real. He just lets it all hang out.