Twee studies van een figuur met hoofddoek 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this drawing of two studies of a figure with a headscarf. Look at how spare and minimal it is! There's so much space around the figures. I imagine Isaac, charcoal in hand, quickly capturing the essence of his subject. It's not about perfection, but about feeling. There's a real energy in those dark, smudged lines, next to the delicate outlines of the figures. The heads are tilted, deep in thought, or maybe just tired? I bet Israels was trying to catch a fleeting moment, a glimpse of something real. It reminds me of other artists who sketched quickly to catch something. Like Degas, or even some of Matisse's line drawings – the way they suggest a whole world with just a few marks. It’s all about the gesture, the feeling, the conversation between artist and subject. And now, the conversation between us and the drawing.