Mannen en vrouwen op een terras 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this sketch of men and women on a terrace with graphite on paper. What I see when I look at this sketch is a process of emergence, a place caught in time and space, which is what a terrace is for. The artist's hand moves across the page, searching and finding the forms of figures in conversation, drinks on tables. I feel sympathy for the artist because I know what it feels like to make something come into being, to begin with nothing and create something. I wonder what he was thinking about while he was drawing. The marks are tentative and probing, like the artist is feeling his way through the scene. This work reminds me of Manet, and other impressionists. I imagine Israels felt a strong connection to them. Artists are in an ongoing conversation, each generation inspiring the next to see and create in new ways. And that’s the point of art, isn’t it? It's a way of thinking, feeling, and living in the world.