Abklatsch van de krijttekening op pagina 31 1875 - 1934

This drawing was made by Isaac Israels, but the date is unknown, and it's housed in the Rijksmuseum. I wonder, was Israels trying to capture a fleeting moment, or more interested in the abstract quality of the charcoal marks themselves? It's so minimal, like he's barely there, a ghost in his own process. I bet he was playing with accidents, letting the texture of the paper grab the chalk in unexpected ways. It looks like he started something and just stopped. There’s a bit of smudging on the lower right, like he rubbed it with his finger. I do that all the time! It’s like a way of thinking. Maybe he was in conversation with other artists like Whistler, who were also exploring tonalism and atmosphere. You can see that kind of influence here. It's a reminder that artists are always in dialogue, picking up where others leave off and pushing the boundaries of what painting can be.