Staande vrouw met gekanteld hoofd 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels captured this woman with tilted head in a drawing, a gesture frozen in graphite. The marks here are immediate, direct—you can sense Israels thinking through line, figuring out the form. He is mostly interested in the woman's head and the details of her face. Look at the way the lines around her eye socket are weighted and layered, giving depth and volume. The rest of the drawing is made up of much fainter marks that only suggest volume. The table in the background, for example, is just a few sketchy lines. It reminds me of Manet, the way he would use a few simple strokes to evoke a whole world. With Manet, and with this drawing, the unfinished quality makes the work feel so alive. It's like the drawing is still breathing, still becoming. And maybe that’s the real subject—not just the woman, but the act of seeing, of trying to understand what’s in front of you.