Vrouw, mogelijk in een etablissement 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this drawing of a woman, possibly in an establishment, with pencil on paper. The quick, almost scribbled marks give the impression of a fleeting moment, like a snatch of conversation overheard in a crowded room. It's so immediate, so process-oriented. You can almost feel the artist’s hand moving across the page, capturing the essence of the scene with a few well-placed lines. Look at the woman's hair, those frantic loops give the impression of curls without ever defining a single strand. There is a sensitivity to the line weight, the variations in thickness and darkness, which suggests a keen awareness of light and shadow. Israels reminds me of Degas, who also had a knack for capturing the everyday. The drawing isn't about perfection or detail; it’s about gesture and feeling, an embrace of ambiguity.