Drie staande vrouwelijke naakten 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this drawing, *Drie staande vrouwelijke naakten*, with graphite on paper, and I love how immediate it feels. You can almost see the artist circling around his subject, trying to pin down the weight and presence of the figures in front of him. Israels is really feeling his way through the composition, deciding where to commit and where to leave things open. There's a vulnerability in the way he lets the lines trail off, allowing the viewer to complete the forms in their mind’s eye. I can relate to that search. Look at the repeated marks, the way he layers the lines to suggest shadow and volume. It's like he’s building the figures from the inside out, capturing not just their appearance, but something of their essence. I bet other artists like Degas were doing something similar at the time. It's like a conversation that goes on through the ages. We are all just talking to each other, ya know?