Kozakkenkoor 1875 - 1934

Here's Isaac Israels' sketch of a "Kozakkenkoor" – that's a Cossack choir– rendered entirely in pencil. You can almost see the artist hovering over his paper, urgently capturing what's in front of him. I imagine Israels in the thick of it all, trying to seize the essence of the choir's sound and presence on paper. He's really laying down the marks. Look at those forceful, almost scribbled lines filling the page, trying to match the energy of the performance. The surface is alive with his quick, searching strokes, building up a dense atmosphere of sound and movement, capturing the heads of the choir as they tilt up to sing. Artists have always borrowed from each other, conversing across generations through their art. This sketch is a great example of the artist sketching to get at some kind of truth! You can feel the energy in those lines. It’s not just about representation, it's about sensation.