Mannenhoofd c. 1915s - 1925s

Isaac Israels drew this head, "Mannenhoofd," with what looks like a graphite pencil, and the sketch is now in the Rijksmuseum. You know, looking at these lines, I feel like I'm watching Israels think! See how the scribbles around the head are almost anxious, searching? It's like he's trying to capture not just a face, but a fleeting thought, a wisp of an idea. The lines are so immediate, so raw. None of it is precious, it's all process. And then there are these stray marks that extend beyond the face. Are they antennae? Are they signals? It makes me think about de Kooning’s quick and dirty portraits, where the messiness is the point. The sketch isn't trying to be perfect, and maybe that's where its real beauty lies. It's alive, in its incompleteness.