Contrabassist 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels drew this sketch of a Contrabassist with pencil, probably on paper. Look at the way the Israels confidently drags the pencil across the page. I imagine him, eyes flicking back and forth, trying to capture the musician’s form quickly. It’s a study, an experiment in observation. I wonder what it was like for Israels to sit in the presence of the musician. I think of the way he focuses on capturing the essentials. You see, in the darkest marks there’s this kind of tension, like the player’s concentration, but the lighter strokes around the contour feel so breezy. It reminds me of other sketches by painters like Degas, who captured dancers in fleeting, intimate moments. These drawings feel like they’re part of a dialogue between artists, each learning from the other, trying to understand the human form and experience through line and gesture. And that conversation goes on still.