Standing Female Nude 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this sketch of a Standing Female Nude with pencil on paper. Look at the confidence of his line! It reminds me of Matisse, but grittier. Imagine Israels in a studio or cafe, quickly capturing the essence of a figure. What was she thinking? I bet that model was bored. Look at the way he suggests form with minimal strokes. Like the angle of her left leg, there's such an elegance to it, even though it's super casual. And the little blob of spillage on the right-hand side that looks like a strange ghostly arm! Israels was part of a generation of artists who were loosening up painting, finding new ways to see and represent the world. There’s a freshness, a sense of immediacy, to this drawing. It feels like a moment captured, an idea jotted down, part of an ongoing conversation among artists across time.