Brug over de Herengracht te Amsterdam, ter hoogte van de Gasthuismolensteeg c. 1886 - 1934

Isaac Israels captured this view of a bridge over the Herengracht in Amsterdam with charcoal. Imagine Israels outside, charcoal in hand, squinting at the world around him. What does he see? It feels spontaneous, like a snapshot of a moment. I get the sense Israels wasn't trying to be perfect; he's just trying to capture the essence of the light, the architecture, the feeling of the water. Look how he lays down these dark, smudgy lines to build up the bridge. The lines capture the density and the quiet of the scene, but also allow for a level of openness. Painters today owe a lot to artists like Israels, who dared to embrace the imperfect, who were more interested in capturing a feeling than a perfect representation. We continue this tradition today, building on each other's experiments and discoveries, in an ongoing conversation across time.