Abklatsch van de potloodtekening op blad 19 verso c. 1915s - 1925s

This pencil drawing is by Isaac Israels and is held at the Rijksmuseum. It’s a delicate, pale thing, like a ghost of an image, or maybe the very beginning of one. Look at the way the pencil marks gather and disperse, how Israels coaxes a sense of form and space with such a light touch. You can almost feel the artist, sketchbook in hand, quickly capturing a fleeting impression. You know, I’m kind of in love with the “mistakes” in art, by which I mean, the smudges and messiness of the medium. These accidents allow for an intimate view into the artist’s process. Think of those moments when you’re drawing and you just let the pencil roam, not quite knowing where it’s going, but trusting that something will emerge. I wonder if he was trying to figure out how to use the page, or just sort of limbering up. I feel that. It reminds me that every artist is always in conversation with what came before, and this piece is no exception. It invites us to join in that dialogue too.