Vrouwenhoofd, in profiel c. 1886 - 1903

Isaac Israels sketched this “Vrouwenhoofd, in profiel” using a humble pencil, capturing a woman’s head in profile. Her averted gaze and the delicate lines suggest a figure lost in thought. The profile, a venerable motif harking back to ancient Roman portraiture, carries echoes of nobility and introspection. Consider, for instance, the countless Renaissance portraits—Botticelli's Simonetta Vespucci, a face immortalized in profile. Yet, here, in Israels’ sketch, the classical ideal softens. The precise contours blur, the lines become more evocative, and the woman seems less a symbol of power, more a study in fleeting emotion. This motif evolves, resurfacing in different contexts, each time tinged with the cultural and psychological milieu of its era. It is a testament to our enduring fascination with the human face as a canvas for inner experience.