Staande figuur met hoed, in profiel c. 1915s - 1925s

Editor: Here we have Isaac Israels' "Standing Figure with Hat, in Profile," likely from between 1915 and 1925, a pencil drawing housed at the Rijksmuseum. There's a casual, almost dashed quality to the lines... What strikes you most about this drawing? Curator: I see the evidence of labor. The hurried sketch, the potential for numerous discarded studies preceding this one... it points to the intense work involved in producing what might be seen as a simple image. Consider the paper itself. Its material origin – trees, industrial processing – underscores that this image isn't just about artistic vision but about concrete, material practices. Editor: That's interesting! I hadn’t considered the materiality of the paper. Does the hat, then, also imply something beyond just an aesthetic choice? Curator: Precisely. The hat speaks to class and social status, signifying the sitter’s role within the economic structures of the time. Israels, by depicting it, engages with a visual language already loaded with meaning. Furthermore, think of the pencils themselves – manufactured goods, their quality impacting the very marks made. It shifts the focus away from just the artist's "genius." Editor: So, it’s almost like the drawing is a document of production itself, highlighting the social and economic realities behind even a quick sketch? Curator: Exactly! And remember, the art market transforms this labor into a commodity, bought and sold, its value determined by factors far removed from the initial act of drawing. Consider where the materials came from, and to whom the product might appeal – or even who the sitter might be, if named! Editor: That's given me a totally different way to think about what goes into creating art, it’s less about innate talent and more about materials and access. Curator: And the ways those materials connect to broader social structures. Hopefully, next time you see a drawing you can see not only the object, but all the labor and context contained within.