Abklatsch van de krijttekening op blad 3 recto c. 1890 - 1920

Curator: We're looking at "Abklatsch van de krijttekening op blad 3 recto," a drawing attributed to Isaac Israels, likely created between 1890 and 1920. It's currently held at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: It feels like a ghost. The sketch is so faint, a fleeting memory on paper. What am I even seeing? Is that the head of a horse? It's wonderfully enigmatic. Curator: Precisely. The work is created using materials such as pencil and pastel on paper. Israels seems interested here in line and form to delineate a figure, and what makes it particularly fascinating is that 'abklatsch' is actually a transfer technique, so this image would have begun life on a different sheet. Editor: A transfer, you say? That immediately makes me think about labor – not just the artist's hand moving across the page, but the added step of pressing and transferring. A subtle but essential aspect of its making. What kind of stories could these marks tell about process and re-use in Israels studio? Curator: Good question! Think about the materials. The use of drawing chalk could be considered a fairly typical, functional choice for initial drawing practice or sketches at the time. We might also ask whether we can expand the concept of labour involved beyond the studio, for instance looking into the processes involved with manufacturing the materials used. Editor: The intimacy of the hand, the deliberate act of creation, against something ephemeral. The softness of those materials contributes to the ghostly, dreamlike state. There is a stillness. Like pausing to notice a subtle impression. It brings to mind slow mornings when light falls on everyday objects revealing beauty that’s always present. Curator: It’s a tantalising fragment. It makes us appreciate both the effort, and maybe also the inherent instability, required to materialize ideas in reproducible form, rather than to regard finished products as given entities. Editor: So beautifully put. In that light, "Abklatsch van de krijttekening op blad 3 recto" becomes more than a sketch. It’s a material record of transformation that offers profound insight into process. Thanks for opening my eyes to all of that!