Staande jonge man by Isaac Israels

Staande jonge man

1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels's Profile Picture

Isaac Israels

1865 - 1934

Location

Rijksmuseum
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Artwork details

Medium
drawing, paper, pencil
Location
Rijksmuseum
Copyright
Rijks Museum: Open Domain

Tags

#portrait#drawing#pencil sketch#landscape#figuration#paper#pencil#sketchbook drawing#pencil work#realism

About this artwork

Isaac Israels made this pencil drawing of a young man, called 'staande jonge man' – or 'standing young man' in Dutch. But he’s actually lying down! It’s like Israels is playing with the idea of how we see, how we orient ourselves in the world. Look at the way Israels uses these light, almost hesitant lines, barely there but somehow capturing the essence of the figure. The marks are very simple, but they give you a sense of the weight and shape of the young man’s body, the folds of his clothing. See that bit around his head and neck? The lines get a little denser, a little darker, and suddenly you have this feeling of weight and form. It reminds me a bit of Manet, that looseness, that sense of capturing a fleeting moment. It’s not about perfection, it’s about the energy of the line, the feeling of the thing. Art is a conversation, you know, and Israels is definitely chiming in.

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