Gezicht van een vrouw, in profiel c. 1886 - 1903

This is Isaac Israels' "Gezicht van een vrouw, in profiel," housed at the Rijksmuseum, executed with delicate lines in pencil. The sketch presents a profile of a woman, rendered with sparse, almost ethereal strokes against a vast, empty space. The dominance of negative space is striking. It gives prominence to the fragility and ephemerality of the subject. The composition invites us to consider the relationship between presence and absence. The faint, almost hesitant lines suggest not a fixed identity, but a transient impression, a fleeting moment captured. Israels seems to be engaging with the philosophy of perception, questioning how much detail is needed to convey form and essence. By destabilizing the traditional portrait, Israels prompts a re-evaluation of representation. This is where the unsaid and unseen become as crucial as what is explicitly drawn.