Twee meisjes 1834 - 1911

Curator: Ah, this is "Twee meisjes," or "Two Girls," by Jozef Israëls, likely created somewhere between 1834 and 1911. It’s a delicate pencil drawing, currently held in the Rijksmuseum collection. Editor: My first thought? Intimacy. Despite the bare-bones execution, the vulnerability is palpable. The almost skeletal lines evoke a fleeting moment of shared quiet, doesn't it? Curator: Absolutely. Jozef Israëls, especially known for his depictions of humble scenes of working-class life, really captures something profound in the everyday here. Editor: Look at the way the pencil strokes build form, almost haphazardly. It highlights the inherent labor of mark-making itself, even in this seemingly effortless sketch. What paper did Israëls use? Curator: While it's not specified, considering the period and Israëls' known practice, it was likely a commercially produced paper, something readily available, enabling that quick capturing of an idea or moment. Think about how different this feels than, say, a meticulously prepared canvas of the time. Editor: Exactly. It begs questions about accessibility to artmaking, too. Pencil and paper: basic tools available to the masses. Israëls is removing some mystique here. Curator: Or, adding another kind. What story are they sharing, what worries might plague them? Are they daydreaming or plotting a grand adventure? The sketch style enhances that openness, a canvas ready to be filled. Editor: Perhaps he left it intentionally ambiguous so that, as the viewer, you confront your own lived experiences as it relates to the female figure as domestic subject? Israëls asks us, with each imprecise line, to look to labor's place in the economy of representation. Curator: It really emphasizes the beauty and significance Israëls found in seemingly ordinary moments of everyday life. And pencil allows for capturing these feelings of uncertainty with quick gestural moves. Editor: In essence, a portrait not just of two girls, but also of the humble materials and the conditions that allowed its making, and also its reception. Curator: Yes, indeed. It invites reflection on these intersections of lives and making, leaving the viewer pondering.