Wandelende figuren en een rijtuig 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this charcoal sketch, ‘Wandelende figuren en een rijtuig’, which roughly translates as ‘wandering figures and a carriage,’ using simple materials. What I love about this piece is how the apparent lack of detail allows us to consider the gestures of its making. The surface texture is raw, immediate. Look closely, and you'll see smudges and erasures. The marks convey a sense of urgency. The composition appears to be a fleeting moment in time, the figures captured in mid-motion with sketchy, frenetic lines. The carriage is not solid but dissolves into the background, its wheels suggested by loose, energetic circles. It reminds me of Manet, both artists capturing contemporary life with an unvarnished, modern eye. But where Manet refines, Israels leaves it loose, more of a whisper than a statement, isn't it?