Figuurstudies 1875 - 1934

Here we have Isaac Israels’ ‘Figuurstudies’, or ‘Figure Studies’ in English; an undated pencil drawing held in the Rijksmuseum. There is an incredible immediacy to these sketches. Look at the way Israels has worked so lightly, capturing these figures with just a few lines. You can almost feel him shifting on his feet as he makes the drawing, quickly capturing the image before it’s gone. I wonder, what was he thinking when he drew this? Was he sitting in a café, idly watching people as they passed by? Or was he in his studio, working from models? What did he want to convey by the gestures? For me, each figure becomes a personality, a feeling. I see echoes of Daumier in the light, swiftly-sketched marks. It reminds us that artists are always in conversation with one another, picking up ideas, transforming them, making them new. Ultimately, it reminds me that it's OK for a drawing to be ambiguous, to suggest rather than define. That's where the magic lies.