Figuren, mogelijk op het toneel c. 1915s - 1925s

Isaac Israels made this drawing, Figuren, mogelijk op het toneel, with a pencil on paper. The sketchiness, the rawness, it's like the thinking is happening right there on the page. You can see the artist figuring out the composition, not precious, just getting the idea down. Look at how the lines are laid down, kind of tentative, searching, but also confident in their own way. There's a real sense of movement and energy. You can feel the artist's hand moving across the paper. See the figure on the right and how the shading emphasizes the planes? And the minimal marks that suggest the other figures, how they are reduced to just a few lines? It's all about capturing the essence, the feeling of the scene, not necessarily the details. Israels reminds me of Degas, who had the same interest in figures and movement. But where Degas is very precise, Israels is looser, more gestural. Ultimately, art is a conversation across time, and the beauty of it is that there's always room for new voices, new perspectives.