Abklatsch van de krijttekening op blad 8 verso 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this chalk drawing on paper, here in the Rijksmuseum. It looks to me like he was interested in that kind of process where the image comes out of a blur. I find it interesting that it’s called a ‘rubbing’ because that makes me think of transferring, like a decal, but here it's chalk. You know, chalk is such a soft material, it just crumbles, so it’s interesting that Israels found a way to make it stick. Look at the way the image barely emerges from the surface of the paper, it is almost nothing! But he has created a sense of depth. What I love is the softness and the way it makes me think of the work of other artists, like Twombly, who were interested in the accidental mark. It speaks to the idea of art as a conversation. No one owns an idea, it’s just floating around to be picked up and reinterpreted!