Staande en bukkende mannen in jacquet 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this drawing of standing and bowing men in tailcoats, we don't know exactly when, but it's there in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. It’s such a flurry of marks, isn’t it? Like a visual shorthand for a fleeting moment. See how Israels captures the figures with these quick, almost scribbled lines? There's a real energy in it, a sense of capturing movement. Look at the way the graphite varies in tone, dark in some areas, almost disappearing in others. It’s a great example of how much can be conveyed with so little. It’s all about the process, the act of seeing and translating that vision onto paper with immediacy. This drawing reminds me a little of Daumier's sketches. Both artists have this incredible ability to capture the essence of a figure or a scene with just a few well-placed lines. Art, for me, is all about this kind of ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas. It's never about having one fixed meaning.