Staande man en vrouw, mogelijk achter een gordijn 1875 - 1934

This sketchy drawing by Isaac Israels at the Rijksmuseum, gives us two figures rendered in charcoal or maybe graphite. I'm imagining Israels rapidly moving the medium, back and forth, hatching the figures and the ground they're resting on, maybe behind. It looks like he's trying to capture a fleeting moment, a sense of intimacy. It makes me think of Degas's quick drawings. I sympathize with Israels—he’s trying to nail down the human form with an economy of line. The marks are so direct and unpretentious, but the overall effect is full of atmosphere, light, and shadow. There's a real energy in the way the lines cross and intersect. The painting emphasizes the importance of observation, of seeing and recording the world around us. And like all artists, Israels is in conversation with the art that came before him, trying to push the medium in new directions, exploring new ways of seeing and representing the world.