Vrouwenhoofd 1875 - 1934

This drawing, "Vrouwenhoofd," was made by Isaac Israels at an unknown date. Look closely and you can see that the artist has been sketching the shapes of things, allowing the composition to emerge. I can imagine Israels at work, his hand moving swiftly, trying to capture a likeness. See how the lines repeat and overlap. He is mapping the planes of a face. We can see how a drawing shifts and emerges through intuition. I love the scribble at the bottom of the page. It is so free and unburdened! It reminds me that artists are in an ongoing conversation, inspiring one another’s creativity. With the marks they make, artists embrace ambiguity, allowing for multiple interpretations.