Dansers of acrobaten 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels created this pencil sketch of dancers or acrobats, sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century, and it’s now in the Rijksmuseum. I love the immediacy of this sketch, how Israels is clearly thinking through line, using it almost like a wire to construct form. You can see his process at work. Look at the way the bodies are rendered, almost like scribbles, capturing the energy and movement of the performers. It’s not about detail, but about feeling. The lines are thin, almost tentative in places, but then they build up, one on top of the other, to suggest depth and volume. The figure at the top, is particularly interesting; balanced precariously on what looks like a series of steps, they are rendered with a kind of controlled frenzy that suggests the risky excitement of performance. Israels manages to capture not only their physical form but also something of their spirit. This reminds me a little of Degas’s drawings of ballet dancers, but with a bit more of a raw edge. It's like a fleeting glimpse, an ephemeral moment captured in graphite. Art isn't about conclusions, it's about conversations, experiments, and open ended questions.