Abklatsch van de krijttekening op blad 7 recto c. 1886 - 1934

This smudgy little drawing was made by Isaac Israels, and it’s now at the Rijksmuseum. It’s called "Abklatsch van de krijttekening op blad 7 recto," which basically means a rubbing or transfer of a chalk drawing. The magic is in the process, right? It’s not so much about a perfect image, but more about the gesture, the act of making. You can almost feel the pressure he used to create the transfer! I'm really drawn to that area where the chalk seems to have gathered, creating a sort of shadowy presence. It's so faint, almost ghostly. It reminds me of Cy Twombly's scribbles, or maybe some of those ethereal drawings by Giorgio Morandi. You know, where the image is barely there, but somehow says everything. It’s like a visual whisper, hinting at something just beyond our grasp. Art doesn't always have to shout, sometimes it's the quiet pieces that speak the loudest.