Studieblad met figuren en architectuur 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this study of figures and architecture with pencil, using rapid strokes and a keen sense for the way light and form intersect. I can almost see him, quickly sketching, trying to capture the essence of the scene before it shifts. Look at how the figures are rendered with just a few lines, yet they feel so present. It reminds me of some of Degas’s monotypes, where figures emerge from shadowy spaces through a network of layered marks. The perspective feels skewed, almost dreamlike, and there’s a sense of ambiguity. Are we inside or outside? Is that a reflection or a window? There’s a conversation happening here. Israels is engaging with the traditions of observational drawing while pushing it toward something more subjective and open-ended. The act of sketching itself becomes a way of thinking, a kind of visual note-taking that captures not just what he sees, but how he feels.