Liggend vrouwelijk naakt, leunend op een arm c. 1915s - 1925s

Isaac Israels sketched this reclining nude, leaning on an arm, with pencil on paper. This intimate pose, the female nude reclining, echoes through art history, harking back to antiquity. Consider, for instance, the sleeping Ariadne, a classical sculpture. The pose is mirrored through the ages. This gesture of reclining, of supporting oneself on an arm, is not merely physical. It speaks of introspection, of vulnerability. In Renaissance art, we see Venus adopting similar poses, a symbol of beauty and love. Each era imbues the pose with new meaning, yet the underlying human element remains—a moment of repose, of self-contemplation. Here, the sketchy lines, the unfinished quality, add to the sense of immediacy. This is a raw, unfiltered glimpse into a private moment, a timeless echo of the human condition.