Staande danseres, in profiel c. 1915s - 1925s

Isaac Israels made this sketch of a dancer, likely in the early 20th century, probably using charcoal or graphite. The marks feel quick, like the dancer has been caught mid-movement, her body twisting and turning. I imagine Israels trying to capture not just the dancer's form, but also the energy of the performance. You can see the shadow on the wall as a large block of dark marks, which looks as if he has really gone at it there. The artist is working fast, trying to get everything down before the moment passes. It makes me think about Degas and his fascination with dancers, how he tried to capture the fleeting beauty of their movements. Israels has a different approach, though, more raw and immediate, full of the here and now. You can feel the pressure of the pencil, the weight of the artist’s hand as he coaxes form out of the blank page. It’s like he’s wrestling with the image, trying to pin it down before it disappears. All artists are grappling with the same problems: How can a drawing be both a record of something and a vital thing in itself?