Verklede figuur en een vrouwenhoofd c. 1886 - 1934

This is Isaac Israels’ pencil drawing, Verklede figuur en een vrouwenhoofd, from the Rijksmuseum. It's all about the sketch, the immediacy of line; look how Israels captures these figures with such economy. You can almost feel the artist's hand moving across the paper. Notice the texture created by the graphite, how it varies from light, feathery strokes to darker, more defined areas, like the scribbled mass of the woman’s head. It gives the impression of movement, a fleeting moment captured in time. The dressed figure has a kind of swagger, or performative quality. I'm drawn to the hat, with those cartoonish flourishes. It feels playful, even slightly absurd, and then you notice the woman's head, floating unanchored like a thought or a memory, somewhere in the periphery. It reminds me a little of Daumier, with the quickness of the mark making, but with a lighter touch. It's a drawing that invites you to look closely, to piece together the story, even if the narrative remains delightfully unresolved.