Twee studies van een vrouw met hoed, in profiel 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this drawing of a woman with a hat with charcoal on paper. It feels immediate, raw, and kind of vulnerable, right? I can almost see Israels there in his studio, charcoal in hand, circling this figure, trying to capture something elusive about her. Look at the smudges and erasures – that’s all part of the dance, the give-and-take between the artist and the subject. It's not about perfection; it's about the search. The stark contrast between the deep blacks and the pale paper gives it a real emotional punch. It reminds me a bit of other sketchers like Paula Modersohn-Becker or Käthe Kollwitz, who were also wrestling with how to represent the human figure in all its complexity. Ultimately, this drawing is a reminder that art is a conversation, an ongoing exploration of what it means to be human, and how we relate to each other.