Portret van een onbekende man c. 1915s - 1925s

This is a sketch of an unknown man by Isaac Israels, part of the collection at the Rijksmuseum, and done with what looks like a graphite pencil on paper. The beauty of a sketch like this is in the immediacy; it's like catching a thought before it fully forms. Look at the lines around the man's head and shoulders - see how they're kind of scribbled, but still manage to define a shape? It's almost like Israels is thinking out loud on the paper. The texture of the paper itself, you can almost feel it, right? This sketch isn't about perfection, it's about process. It reminds me a bit of some of Van Gogh’s drawings, that same energy and directness. There's a sense of exploration, of trying to capture something essential about the subject without getting bogged down in details. It's a reminder that art doesn't always have to be polished or finished. Sometimes, it's the raw, unfinished stuff that really speaks to us.