Reclining Female Nude c. 1915s - 1925s

Isaac Israels made this drawing of a reclining female nude with ink on paper. I love to think about the artist's process: the act of swiftly sketching, capturing the essence of form with those confident, unbroken lines. You can almost feel the artist's hand moving across the page, deciding what to include and what to omit. I sympathize with Israels, because as artists, we're constantly making choices about how to represent the world around us. I imagine him thinking about the weight and volume of the body, how the light falls across her skin, all translated into the shorthand of black ink. See how the lines aren't just outlines? They also suggest shadow, texture, and movement. It's a conversation between the artist, the model, and the materials. In this intimate portrait, Israels speaks to us from across time, reminding us that we're all part of a long, ongoing dialogue about seeing and being seen.