Reclining Female Nude 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this drawing of a reclining nude, probably in his studio, with pencil on paper. What I love about this drawing is how casual it feels, but also how intense it is, all at once. It is the kind of drawing that is all about the process, a way of thinking through the body with marks on a page. Look at the area around the head. The lines aren’t labored, they’re quick, searching. The pressure varies; the lines are darker where he wants to define a contour, lighter where he’s just feeling around. The model’s face is almost obscured, a jumble of lines. Israels is interested in the overall form, the way the body occupies space, rather than in the details of the face. This is very similar to a drawing by Degas; a shared approach to capturing an intimacy, a sense of a fleeting moment. And art’s always like that, isn’t it? A conversation across time, a way of seeing that builds on what came before, but always with its own unique spin.