Twee vrouwen aan een tafel c. 1915s - 1925s

Editor: So here we have “Two Women at a Table,” a pencil drawing made around 1915-1925 by Isaac Israels, at the Rijksmuseum. I find it strangely intimate, like a stolen glance at a private moment. What strikes you about this piece? Curator: Intimate is a wonderful word for it. Israels, a master of impressionism, captures such fleeting moments with deceptively simple lines. I imagine him perched somewhere, perhaps in a bustling cafe, quickly sketching these women before they noticed him. Do you sense the almost voyeuristic quality that adds to the feeling? Editor: Yes! There’s definitely a sense of the clandestine, of witnessing something unposed. The unfinished nature of the sketch only adds to that feeling. Like a half remembered memory… Curator: Precisely! The loose pencil work invites our imaginations to fill in the gaps, to become co-creators of the scene. We become complicit in this stolen moment, piecing together their conversation, their relationship. Isn’t it fascinating how much emotion can be conveyed with so few strokes? It whispers a story rather than shouting one. Editor: Absolutely. It makes me wonder what they were talking about! It really sparks your imagination. Curator: Indeed! For me, that's the enduring power of sketchwork; it serves as an invitation, not a declaration. Now tell me, how has our conversation colored your perspective on this seemingly simple sketch? Editor: I see it less as unfinished now and more as an invitation, a doorway to imagining a fuller narrative. It is far more engaging and intriguing than before! Curator: A lovely note on which to end; an "invitation." So fitting.