Annotaties c. 1919

This page of annotations was jotted down by Isaac Israels, and it's amazing how something so simple can be so evocative. I mean, look at the way the ink bleeds slightly into the paper, suggesting a kind of urgency, a need to capture these names and addresses quickly. You can almost feel Israels hovering over this notebook, pen in hand, trying to capture a moment, a connection, a possibility. What was he thinking as he wrote "Strathmore, Carbourne Terrace, Richmond"? Was it a place he longed to visit? And those names – Shelagh, Anna, Greta – they’re like little whispers of lives lived, of stories waiting to be told. I love how Israels transforms a simple list into a kind of abstract painting, where each word becomes a brushstroke, and the negative space around them hums with potential. It's like he's reminding us that even the most mundane things can be a source of inspiration, if we just know how to look.