Vrouw met hoed op een terras 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this drawing of a woman with a hat on a terrace with graphite on paper, and you can almost feel the speed of the artist trying to capture a fleeting moment. See the marks, how they swarm and huddle together? I can imagine Israels sitting on that terrace, squinting in the sun, quickly trying to get the essence of the scene down before the light shifts, or the woman moves. I bet he was thinking about all those other Impressionist painters, and the way they tried to pin down reality with these quick marks. The diagonal lines create a kind of energetic scaffolding, and the circular scribbles around the woman’s face give her a real presence. It’s like Israels is saying, “I see you, mysterious woman with a hat, sitting there on the terrace.” The hat is looming large, in its own little orbit. What is she thinking? What is she looking at? What will she do next?