Voeten op een stoel c. 1915s - 1925s

Curator: This intriguing sketch, "Voeten op een stoel," by Isaac Israels, made sometime between 1915 and 1925, offers a peek into a private moment. Editor: It's very informal, isn’t it? Almost unfinished. The crossed-out lines give it a fleeting feeling, like the artist captured the scene in a moment. And what material is this? Is it just a graphite pencil on paper? Curator: Indeed. Its medium is simply pencil on paper, very much in line with Israels' impressionistic tendencies. He sought to capture life as he saw it, and, certainly, his artistic networks put him in place to represent modernity. Editor: The way he uses that pencil is key. Notice how the textures emerge—the soft give of the chair cushion versus the solid form of the boots resting there. You can almost feel the contrast of soft against hard. I imagine how the drawing itself came to life—quick strokes, pressure against the page. Curator: I see it as reflecting on the emerging class consciousness during that period. While others were making art dedicated to celebrating an idea of industrial production, he focused more on its impact on modern everydayness. Editor: Do you think? For me it communicates more of a timeless idea: rest, repose, the human figure at ease with space. And of course we’re seeing intimism taking a major part in representing the individual in domestic settings. Curator: I suppose there could be space for both readings, couldn’t there? His works, whether intentionally or not, ended up speaking volumes. Editor: What’s interesting, too, is that a pencil sketch such as this moves away from the art object as an object of consumption. Here we're seeing how form and art emerge from its making and usage; in this way the work remains relevant, since every stroke, pressure and marking makes up a drawing of intimacy. Curator: Precisely, it's those very dialogues – the intimate and the grand – that make encounters such as these timeless for viewing audiences, I believe. Editor: Yes, allowing the viewer to create their own version of intimacy. And by extension, to recognize the power and materiality of common art mediums, such as this pencil.