Staande vrouw met haar armen over elkaar 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this drawing of a standing woman in pencil, and it's like catching a thought as it forms. The marks are so immediate, so alive! Look how Israels uses the pencil, sometimes pressing hard for a dark, definite line, and other times barely touching the paper for a whisper of a shadow. The texture of the paper becomes part of the drawing itself, giving it a kind of breath. See how the lines around her face are darker, more insistent, really pulling her forward, while the rest of her body is just suggested. It's like Israels is saying, "Here's what I really want you to see, but the rest is there too, in potential." It reminds me a little of Toulouse-Lautrec, in that the everyday is rendered with such dynamism and care. It's not about perfection, it's about capturing the energy of a moment. And in that energy, there's a whole world of feeling.