Isaac Israels made this sketch of two women’s heads with a graphite pencil. It resides in a sketchbook with many other sketches made by the artist. Looking closely, we see how Israels captured the likeness of his subjects with very few lines. Israels belonged to a group of Dutch impressionist painters in the late 19th century. He, like many other artists in the period, challenged the traditional art academy and sought to depict everyday life and ordinary people. As we can see in this work, the artist focuses on the representation of modern women. To understand Israels’ motives and the culture of his time better, one might research the social position of women in the Netherlands at the turn of the century. We can see how art is always embedded in a particular time and place. The role of the historian is to reveal these relations.