Vrouwenhoofd met oorbel, in profiel 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this drawing, Vrouwenhoofd met oorbel, in profiel, with a graphite pencil, sometime in his lifetime, so we don’t know exactly when. But I love the casual feel, the lack of pressure to define every contour. It’s a drawing that breathes. Look at the way the pencil just glides over the paper, hinting at the form without trapping it. The lines are so light, almost like whispers, and the paper itself becomes part of the image. The texture of the paper peeks through, giving the drawing a sense of depth and airiness. The marks around the hair are like a flurry, capturing the essence of the style, or maybe a mood more than a realistic depiction. Israels’s approach reminds me a bit of Matisse’s drawings, that same effortless quality and the sense that the artist is really seeing, not just copying. Drawing is a language, and this piece speaks volumes with a minimalist vocabulary.