Gezicht op het Place de la Concorde te Parijs 1887 - 1934

This unassuming graphite sketch of the Place de la Concorde in Paris was made by Isaac Israels, and what strikes me is how economical and active the marks are. Israels has really captured something of the energy of the place. The thin, grey lines seem to dance across the page, suggesting movement and fleeting impressions. Look closely, and you can almost feel the pulse of Parisian life. The texture of the paper shows through, becoming an active part of the drawing, not just a passive surface. It’s all about the immediacy of the moment, not labored or overworked. There’s a strong horizontal mark that shoots across the page which could be some kind of structure, perhaps a bridge or building? It acts as an anchor, grounding the composition. It’s the kind of mark that I could imagine Alberto Giacometti making, both artists seem interested in capturing the essence of a subject with as few lines as possible. Ultimately art is about finding your own way of seeing and recording the world. There’s no right or wrong way.