Figuurstudies 1875 - 1934

This page of figuurstudies was drawn by Isaac Israels, who was born in Amsterdam in 1865. Look closely at the quick, gestural marks made with what seems like charcoal on paper. I imagine Israels in a cafe, or maybe a park, quickly trying to capture what's in front of him. I see him squinting, his eyes darting back and forth, trying to quickly transfer the image in his head to the page. The lines are confident, but also tentative, like he's not quite sure where they're going to end up, and at once, they evoke something immediate and true. Then, look how the softer smudges of tone and the darker, more intense scribbles and patches of charcoal create volume and depth, giving the figures weight and presence. It’s like a conversation between intention and accident. It reminds me of sketches by Degas or Manet. Artists are always in dialogue like that, picking up on each other’s cues, riffing on the same themes. When we look at paintings, we are witnessing a moment of human expression, a fleeting feeling made visible through the simplest of means.