Contrabassist 1875 - 1934

This lively drawing of a Contrabassist was made by Isaac Israels, but when exactly remains a mystery. It's all about the process, isn't it? The way Israels lets the pencil dance across the page. Check out the frenetic energy of the marks around the musician's body. See how the lines vibrate? It’s like the drawing itself is humming along with the deep notes of the bass. The marks build up in layers, some dark and assertive, others light and tentative, giving you a sense of the artist circling around his subject, searching for the right line, the right angle. For me, this sketch echoes the immediacy and raw emotion of Käthe Kollwitz’s drawings. Both artists share a commitment to portraying the human figure with empathy and unflinching honesty, and remind us that art is always a conversation, a back-and-forth between the artist, the subject, and the viewer.