Figuurstudie 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this study with pencil and chalk on paper, where the figure emerges from a cloud of rubbed graphite. I can imagine him working on this piece, thinking, what is a figure, anyway? How much of it do I need to show to make it one? The marks are tentative, searching. The image itself is in the process of becoming, as if the artist wants to capture a fleeting thought. There are moments where the pressure of the pencil increases, such as the expressive lines of the eyes, or the bold, looping scribble of the hair, and then other areas are left open, unresolved. I wonder what Israels would make of artists today—like Cecily Brown, for example—and the way they evoke the history of figurative painting. It’s this constant dialogue and visual exchange between artists which keeps the conversation alive. We all have something to learn from one another.