Vrouw, in profiel c. 1915s - 1925s

This is Isaac Israels' drawing of a woman in profile at the Rijksmuseum, done with graphite on paper. Can you imagine Israels quickly capturing the essence of his subject with those lines? It's like a visual shorthand, right? I wonder what Israels was thinking as he made this drawing. Was he trying to capture her likeness, or was he more interested in the play of light and shadow on her face? I love the way he suggests the volume of her hair with just a few scribbled lines; it's so economical and yet so expressive. And notice the hatching on her cheek—that's how he builds up the tone and gives her face dimension. It reminds me of some of Degas' drawings, that same sense of immediacy and intimacy. Artists are always in conversation with each other, picking up on ideas and pushing them in new directions. For me, it is in this ongoing exchange where art truly lives.