Abklatsch van de krijttekening op pagina 7 1875 - 1934

Editor: Here we have Isaac Israels' "Abklatsch van de krijttekening op pagina 7," a pencil drawing on paper, created sometime between 1875 and 1934. It's a faint sketch... almost ghostly. I’m curious, what do you see in this piece, especially given the time it was created? Curator: This piece invites us to consider the social and artistic landscape of its time. Israels, working between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, was part of a shift in art towards depicting modern life, but here we have something different. It looks like the back side of another drawing. Is it possible it’s a ‘second use’ of paper? Perhaps Israels valued conservation or had material limitations? Editor: That's an interesting thought. I hadn’t considered that aspect. It makes me wonder, was Israels making a statement about resourcefulness, maybe reflecting social issues of that era, like poverty or waste? Curator: Exactly. Consider the institutional context as well. The Rijksmuseum's acquisition and display of such a preliminary or "rejected" work—this raises questions about what art is deemed worthy of preservation and how museums shape artistic narratives. Do you see hints of an academic figure, perhaps, lurking beneath the surface? Editor: I think so! I notice some facial features. Perhaps it was deemed ‘practice’? But why preserve it? It sounds like we are questioning who gets remembered, and why. Curator: Precisely. Israels was interested in capturing fleeting moments in other paintings, and this interest comes from Impressionism’s emphasis on modern and contemporary life, but the politics of imagery shape even this medium of just “pencil on paper”. It also opens up conversations on labor; if someone who produces portraiture cannot afford a fresh piece of paper. Editor: This has definitely changed how I view sketches. It highlights the choices, conscious or unconscious, about what we value, and what is lost or discarded. Curator: Indeed, the act of exhibiting it reframes it; transforming it from possible garbage to an artifact that tells many potential stories.