Annotaties 1875 - 1934

This sheet of paper with Annotations was made by Isaac Israels and is now kept at the Rijksmuseum. It's mostly a field of warm off-white, punctuated by the occasional grey smudge and a handwritten note. Looking at this piece is like observing someone thinking. It's more about the record of a process than a finished thing. You can see the texture of the paper, the way the ink bleeds slightly, and the ghost of marks erased. It's not trying to hide anything. There's a little stain in the top left corner, which feels very human and relatable. This reminds me of Cy Twombly's drawings. They share a similar approach to mark-making and the importance of gesture, where the act of drawing itself becomes the subject. Ultimately, these types of artworks invite us to embrace the beauty of imperfection and the ongoing dialogue that is art.