Girls Smoking Cigarettes 

Isaac Israels captured these Girls Smoking Cigarettes with oil on canvas. The composition, dominated by muted tones and diffused light, evokes a sense of quiet intimacy, almost as if we're eavesdropping on a private moment. Israels's brushwork is loose and suggestive; forms emerge from the shadows rather than being sharply defined. This technique aligns with the impressionist focus on capturing fleeting moments and subjective experiences. The cigarettes become potent signifiers, challenging social norms and fixed identities. The hazy atmosphere, enhanced by the very act of smoking, reflects a broader cultural shift towards challenging fixed meanings, values, or categories, opening up new ways of thinking about space, perception, power, and representation.