Revuedanseres c. 1915s - 1925s

Isaac Israels made this drawing of a dancer, presumably in preparation for a painting, using what looks like a graphite stick. The interesting thing about a sketch like this is seeing how the artist’s mind works: a flurry of marks, a process of searching and erasure, as he tries to find the essence of the subject. Look at the dancer’s head, the thickness of the mark making suggests an energy, a flurry of movement. Then see how Israels added a few loops and lines to imply ribbons, hair, or movement. The single, bold horizontal line cuts across the top of the composition: is it a horizon line, or simply a way of framing the figure? This kind of mark making reminds me of Degas, who also made many drawings of dancers. The image is allusive and open-ended, with a quality of being unfinished, which I always find appealing. It is a reminder that art is not about fixed meanings, but about the ongoing process of seeing, thinking, and feeling.