Dirigent in een orkestbak 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this drawing of a conductor in an orchestra pit with graphite on paper. You can see the frenetic energy of the orchestra through the artist's hand. I imagine Israels as a kind of method actor here, embodying the energy of the conductor, the musicians, and the swell of music. This drawing is a quick sketch, a way of grabbing the feeling in the moment, with lines searching and finding their way across the page. The texture created by the graphite is rough and immediate, giving a sense of the atmosphere in the pit, the anticipation before a performance, the concentration, and the energy contained in a small space. Israels’ use of line reminds me of other artists who worked similarly, such as Daumier or Degas. Drawing like this is like a conversation. It’s about the relationship between seeing, feeling, and doing. And it’s a reminder that art is always a kind of exchange, an ongoing dialogue across time and space.