Man en vrouw met hoed, op de rug gezien 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this drawing of a Man en vrouw met hoed, op de rug gezien, at an unknown date. The image is mostly a moody grey, black and white. I love how the charcoal has been worked so vigorously into the paper. You can see Israels finding his way, one mark at a time, across the surface. Looking at this sketch, I think about Israels standing there with his charcoal, quickly capturing the scene. What was he thinking about as he worked on this piece? Perhaps he was interested in the way the light fell on the hats. Or maybe he was just drawn to the shapes and textures of their clothes. I feel that he might have been in conversation with other artists doing similar work at the time, like Degas, who was also interested in capturing everyday scenes with a sense of immediacy. For me, the drawing feels unfinished in a way that is very appealing. And it reminds me that art is always a conversation, and that artists are constantly building on each other's ideas.