Zittende en staande figuren, mogelijk artiesten op het toneel 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this work 'Zittende en staande figuren, mogelijk artiesten op het toneel', or 'Sitting and standing figures, possibly artists on stage' with pencil on paper. Look at the rapid lines, they capture a fleeting moment, a rehearsal maybe, or a pause between acts. You can almost feel the artist's hand moving quickly across the page, trying to catch the essence of the scene. The paper must have felt smooth under the pencil. I imagine Israels, perched somewhere in the theater, observing the performers, sketching with focused intensity. What were they thinking, these figures on the stage? Were they nervous, excited, lost in their roles? The sketch reminds me of Degas' drawings of dancers. It is a reminder that art-making is a conversation across time. Each artist borrows, transforms, and responds to what came before. This sketch feels like a moment of connection, of seeing the world through another artist's eyes, and finding new possibilities in the process.