Mannenhoofd en een kind met hoed 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this drawing of a man and child with a hat, in graphite, and he was looking for something, you can tell. Israels' marks are searching, the kind that build up hesitantly but then also confidently. See how he uses the bare minimum of line to conjure form, like the side of the man’s face, or the hat on the child. It’s like he’s mapping out possibilities, trying to find the essence of these figures. The quick strokes and light shading feel provisional, as though he’s thinking out loud with the pencil. You could see this as a study for a larger work, or simply a moment captured, a sketch of everyday life. What does it mean to make an artwork that embraces uncertainty over resolution? For me it’s like life itself, a process of constant questioning and reevaluation, or maybe like a Rembrandt sketch. The conversation goes on.