Gezicht van een vrouw, in profiel 1875 - 1934

Curator: Here we have Isaac Israels’ “Gezicht van een vrouw, in profiel,” or “View of a Woman, in Profile,” created sometime between 1875 and 1934. It's a delicate pencil drawing. Editor: Mmm, ghostly. She almost fades into the paper itself. There's a melancholic beauty to it, like a half-remembered dream. Curator: The economy of line is striking, isn't it? The bare minimum of strokes required to define the form. Notice how the artist focuses on the contour of the nose and the mouth, allowing the rest of the face to remain somewhat suggestive. Editor: It's that negative space, isn't it? What's missing is just as important as what's there. It makes her feel fleeting, like she might disappear if you look away for too long. Did Israels do a lot of these quick studies? Curator: He did. This piece, like many of his works, exemplifies Impressionistic tendencies through its emphasis on capturing a fleeting moment, a gesture, a feeling. The lack of detail invites the viewer to participate, to fill in the blanks, so to speak. The angle is quite sharp and angular too, from the eyebrows downward. Editor: I find the sketch intimate, almost like glimpsing someone in a private moment. It invites introspection; the woman's gaze feels inward. And it seems like she's hiding other shapes below? It could have been a canvas reused. Curator: An intriguing possibility. This could perhaps offer further interpretation. Though, its incompleteness might make any attempt at reading intentionality inherently problematic, and would not do justice to Israels’ vision of portraying an aesthetic experience. Editor: Well, I still think it has this wonderful sense of captured breath. It's a simple drawing, but loaded with emotion. It also leaves room for thought. Curator: Indeed, its power lies precisely in its understated elegance and structural qualities. Editor: For me, the imperfection is the art. Thank you.