Huis 1921 - 1922

This page of sketches was created by Isaac Israels, but we don't know when. Just by looking at these tentative pencil lines, I can see him, holding the pad in his hand, rapidly trying to capture the world around him. Look at the scratching marks, how they build up and suggest architectural forms, perhaps a house, perhaps a street. The artist is mapping the city, and maybe trying to understand his place within it. He is thinking about forms and how to create a sense of space. It’s a kind of painting by thinking. Israels is not trying to create a finished thing, but rather playing with form, mass, and space. Each mark informs the next, and the city emerges through a process of trial, error, and intuition. The notations scrawled in the margins feel like prompts to himself, perhaps a list of places he wants to capture. This piece reminds me that artmaking is a constant conversation with oneself and the world, inspiring new directions and ideas.