Twee studies van vrouwelijk naakt, mogelijk dansend c. 1915s - 1925s

Here we have ‘Twee studies van vrouwelijk naakt, mogelijk dansend’ or ‘Two studies of a female nude, possibly dancing,’ by Isaac Israels, made with what looks like graphite on paper. Israels captures the figures in motion, or in the process of finding their form. You can almost feel the artist working through his subject in real time. The marks are confident but not overworked. You can see the subtle variations in pressure and tone. The artist is thinking through his process, not aiming for a finished product. Look at the way he suggests the curve of a hip or the angle of a shoulder. He makes them without belaboring the point. This reminds me of Degas' dancers, or maybe even some of Matisse’s loose, gestural drawings. But Israels brings his own sensibility to it. It's like he's inviting us to witness his process, making it an open-ended question rather than a statement. And that's what makes it so engaging.