Twee vrouwenhoofden 1875 - 1934

This drawing, Twee vrouwenhoofden, was made by Isaac Israels, though we don’t know exactly when, and it now sits in the Rijksmuseum. What I like about it is how it uses just a few marks to create two heads; one is very faint, and the other is a bit more in focus. It’s all about lines, loose and scratchy, building up the forms. You can see the process, the way Israels worked to find the shapes, almost like he’s thinking out loud with the pencil. The texture comes from these layers of lines, not trying to hide anything. I am drawn to the way he uses hatching to suggest the shadows on the face, it gives it a sense of depth and volume. It reminds me a little of Käthe Kollwitz, the way she used line to capture emotion. It's a good reminder that art is an ongoing conversation.