Abklatsch van de krijttekening op blad 4 recto c. 1886 - 1934

This is a chalk drawing by Isaac Israels. Chalk is a humble material, yet capable of great subtlety. The artist drags it across paper, creating a residue that forms an image. But notice that this is not the original drawing itself, but rather an “abklatsch” – a transfer of a chalk drawing. To make such a print, the artist would have first created the drawing, and then laid another sheet of paper on top of it, rubbing it to lift some of the chalk. The resulting image would be fainter, and slightly blurred. This is not a high-production method, but a low-tech one. The point of making an "abklatsch" may have been to preserve the original drawing by creating a copy. Or perhaps the artist sought to explore the effects of reproduction. Whatever the reason, this work reminds us that even the simplest materials and processes can yield surprising and beautiful results. And it challenges the assumption that the original is always superior to the copy.