Abklatsch van de krijttekening op blad 15 verso 1875 - 1934

This, "Abklatsch van de krijttekening op blad 15 verso" by Isaac Israels, lives at the Rijksmuseum, and is a kind of echo of another drawing, a rubbing if you like, using chalk. It's so subtle, barely there, like a memory. I love how the chalk dust creates this soft, blurred effect. It’s all about the process here; the smudging, the transferring, the ghost of an image. You can almost feel the artist pressing the paper, willing the image to appear. Look closely at the bottom left – that little cluster of darker marks. It’s like the key to the whole thing, anchoring the wispy forms. The paper itself is part of the story, with its texture and slight imperfections. It reminds me of some of Twombly’s drawings, where the act of mark-making is as important as the final image. There’s a humility to it, an acceptance of chance and imperfection. And that’s what makes it so beautiful.