Zelfportret van Isaac Israels met hoed 1875 - 1934

Curator: This is Isaac Israels' "Self-Portrait with Hat," created sometime between 1875 and 1934, currently residing here at the Rijksmuseum. It's a pencil drawing on paper. Editor: Well, hello there, Isaac! My first thought is how fleeting it feels. A whisper of a portrait. He’s there, but also not quite… elusive, like a memory. Curator: I’m drawn to the lines themselves, the sheer economy of means. It speaks to the materials readily available to the artist at that moment: paper and pencil, inviting the viewer to imagine the setting in which the sketch was made, its purpose, the role of the support. Was this preparatory? Or was the mere gesture of figuration its sole purpose? Editor: Perhaps a bit of both? The hat, the suggestion of form... He seems to be looking slightly downwards, contemplating? Maybe contemplating a nice hot bath and a sherry, judging by the slouch. Though I do love how the pencil creates a mood as much as a likeness. Curator: Indeed, the lack of strong contour or value shifts creates an almost uniform field of graphite particles on the support’s surface. His handling of the medium certainly demonstrates a freedom not usually found in traditional, academic portraiture, revealing a material sensibility informed by Impressionist painters like Manet and Degas, of whom he surely was aware. Editor: Absolutely. He’s caught a sense of immediacy – like, "Here I am, in this moment." There's a playfulness, despite the seemingly introspective gaze, in his use of line, that makes you wonder what he was really thinking as he drew himself. It makes you wonder if the “truth” lies more in the feeling of the work rather than any realistic representation. Curator: Perhaps the "truth," as you say, is in its capacity to blur boundaries between high art and everyday drawing? As the Rijksmuseum collection demonstrates through its numerous holdings of sketches and preparatory drawings for paintings, this drawing by Israels reminds us of the importance of the preliminary step, and that sometimes the step can be, perhaps even should be, considered the end result itself. Editor: It invites us into the intimate, imperfect process of creation, doesn't it? A small sketch with an abundance of possibility and an even greater dose of wonder.