Drie studies van een vrouwenhoofd met hoed 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this sketch of three studies of a woman’s head with a hat using pencil, and what I like about it is how immediate it feels. It’s like we’re catching a glimpse of the artist in the act of seeing. The whole thing is about line, a flurry of marks that somehow coalesce into form. The weight of the pencil varies, sometimes scratchy and light, other times bearing down to create shadows. There is a real economy of means, especially in the way he suggests the hat with just a few scribbles, leaving the rest to our imagination. Look at the leftmost study, the way the shading is all hatched together in one direction like the marks are capturing the shape. It reminds me of some of Degas’s quick studies, where the process is so visible, where the making is part of the magic. For me, it’s a reminder that art is always an open question, never a closed statement.