Schrijvende vrouw aan tafel 1834 - 1911

Jozef Israëls created this delicate pencil drawing of a woman writing at a table sometime in his career. The work is a study, made using graphite, one of the most humble and elemental art materials. It is simply carbon, mined from the earth, processed and baked into a clay matrix, then shaved onto paper. Note the economy of means: Israëls uses the side of the pencil to suggest the planes of the table, then sharpens the point to pick out details like the woman's face and the frill of her dress. It is interesting that the artist chose to create a work about a woman, writing, using such a basic tool. In the nineteenth century, literacy was becoming more widespread, and with it, new forms of creative expression. Israëls seems interested less in the content of the woman's writing, and more in the material process of putting pencil to paper. This work reminds us that artistic creation always has a direct, physical dimension.