Abklatsch van de potloodtekening op blad 13 recto c. 1915s - 1925s

This pencil drawing, made by Isaac Israels, invites us into a world of subtle gestures and understated beauty. It’s not about perfection, but more about the process, the act of seeing and recording, with all its little imperfections and accidental marks. Look at the smudges and faint lines, the way the image almost disappears into the paper. It’s as if Israels is showing us the ghost of an idea, a fleeting impression rather than a concrete image. I love the way the graphite sits on the page, sometimes dense and dark, other times barely visible, creating a delicate dance of light and shadow. That build-up of material over to the right, thick and fast, and then the emptiness in the middle. It reminds me of Cy Twombly’s drawings, in the sense of capturing a sense of movement and energy through minimal means. Ultimately, this drawing is a testament to the power of suggestion, inviting us to fill in the blanks and create our own narratives.