Ruiter, mogelijk een huzaar 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this drawing, Ruiter, mogelijk een huzaar, with pencil, you can see it right here at the Rijksmuseum. There’s something so immediate in the way Israels lays down these marks, a real urgency. It’s like he’s trying to capture the essence of the rider, maybe a hussar, in just a few strokes. Look at how the lines are so thick and dark in places, then almost disappear into the page. You can almost feel the graphite grinding against the paper, which is how you know that this is an immediate response. The texture is so raw, so present. It’s not about perfection, it’s about the feeling, the energy of the moment. The way he suggests the form with these scribbled lines, it reminds me of a Cy Twombly drawing, or maybe Manet. It’s like Israels is whispering to them across time, continuing this conversation about what it means to capture movement, to make a mark, to feel something deeply.