Staande vrouw in een gewaad 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this drawing of a standing woman in a gown with pencil on paper, sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. Look at these lines! So few, and yet they suggest so much. The paper has aged to a gorgeous, muted green, which throws the starkness of the drawing into sharp relief. Notice how the quickest strokes delineate the contours of the figure's face and hair, while longer, more deliberate lines define the shape of her gown. There's a real sense of immediacy, of the artist capturing a fleeting moment. It reminds me of a Cy Twombly drawing, but with more figuration. I’m really drawn to the triangular mark that bisects the main form, and how it cuts through the figure, disrupting our sense of her coherence. It's like a secret language, inviting us to decode the artist's intentions. This piece really speaks to me about the power of suggestion and the beauty of imperfection. It reflects the ongoing conversation between artists across time, each riffing on the ideas of those who came before.