Twee vrouwenhoofden 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this drawing of two women’s heads, probably in his studio, with charcoal or graphite on paper. The heads emerge from a flurry of marks, some dark and decisive, others light and searching. On the left page, a tangle of ghostly lines suggests the presence of another form, now faded or erased. I can imagine him moving quickly, trying to capture the tilt of a head, the fall of light, the weight of a mood. What was he thinking as he made this? Was he trying to capture the essence of these women, their individuality, or something more universal? Notice how the marks create a kind of energy, like a storm. But then the eyes of the lower head cut through this, so alive and direct. Israels has been compared to Manet and Degas and you see it here in his rendering of modern life. For me, this piece is less about the surface appearance of things, and more about what lies beneath—the inner lives we can't quite grasp, the fleeting moments of connection. It’s a reminder of the endless conversations artists have through their work, across time and space.