Figuurstudie, mogelijk een vrouw 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this figure study, possibly a woman, with pencil on paper. The drawing reminds me that every mark matters, whether it's a sketch or a fully realized painting. Looking at the economy of line here, the smudges and erasures, it’s clear that Israels was thinking through the form. You can almost feel his hand moving across the page, deciding what to keep and what to leave out. The way the figure emerges from the ground of the paper feels incredibly direct and unfiltered. Take a look at the way the hat is rendered. It's just a few lines, but they perfectly capture the tilt of the head and the way the light falls on the brim. It’s this kind of focused observation that elevates a simple sketch to something really special. This piece echoes the work of Edgar Degas, particularly his pastels of dancers, in its fleeting, intimate capture of a figure in motion. It just goes to show how artists build on each other's ideas, creating a continuous, evolving conversation about how we see and represent the world.