Architectuurstudie 1875 - 1934

Here's a delicate study of architecture, made in graphite by Isaac Israels. It reminds me of Cy Twombly. You can sense the artist circling around the subject, feeling out its form. The graphite marks are smudgy, layered, creating a hazy, dreamlike quality. I wonder what Israels was thinking when he made it? It feels more like a memory of a building, not a portrait of one. The artist's hand moves tentatively. There’s a lot of tentative reworking; it’s all about suggestion rather than definition. This isn’t so much about the specifics of architecture, but a feeling of space, light, and air. It reminds me of other artists who use drawing as a way of thinking, like Philip Guston. They invite us to see the world in a new light. It shows how artists are always in conversation, picking up on each other’s ideas, and pushing them in new directions.