Rijtuigen op straat 1887 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this pencil sketch, Rijtuigen op straat, at an undetermined date, and what strikes me is the speed and efficiency of line. Israels is capturing a fleeting moment, not trying to nail down every detail. The magic is in the gaps, isn’t it? Look at those wheels, almost scribbled into existence, and the suggestion of figures perched on the carriages. There’s a real sense of movement, as though the whole scene could rumble off the page at any moment. The texture of the paper is also integral to the piece – the tooth of the page grabs the graphite, leaving a broken line which speaks to the unfinished nature of the sketch. This piece reminds me of some of Manet’s sketches – that same sense of capturing a moment, an impression, rather than a detailed representation. And like Manet, Israels seems to be saying that art isn’t about perfection, it’s about process, about seeing and feeling and capturing something of the world around us.