Staande vrouw, op de rug gezien 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels sketched this standing woman with graphite on paper. Look at the marks! I can see him thinking, trying to get the weight of the body, the feel of the clothing. I know this process of constant adjustment. You start with a line, then another, trying to find the form, the gesture. Each mark is a decision, a question, a correction. It's a back-and-forth between the eye, the hand, and the subject. I feel like Israels is not just recording what he sees, but also trying to understand it, to feel it. That's what drawing is all about, really, an intimate conversation between the artist and the world. You have to find ways of seeing, thinking and feeling your way into a painting. It makes me want to pick up a pencil and start scribbling. It’s like a shared language across time, isn’t it?