Straatgezicht bij avond 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this street scene at night using a soft material, probably charcoal. It’s all about the process here, isn't it? A real dance between the eye, the hand, and the paper. Israels is using the charcoal in such a direct, raw way. You can almost feel the pressure he applied, the speed of his hand. It’s a sketch, sure, but it's also so much more. Look at how he builds up the shadows, layer upon layer, scribbling and smudging. There’s a real physicality to it. And then there are these little bursts of light, where the paper shines through. It’s like he’s sculpting with darkness, carving out the forms from the night. Notice, in the upper right, the ghost of a carriage. This reminds me of some of the charcoal drawings by Käthe Kollwitz, where the medium is also about a moment in time. And like Kollwitz, Israels shows us that art isn’t just about capturing a likeness but about capturing a feeling. A sense of a place, a moment, an atmosphere. It’s a conversation, a back-and-forth between the artist and the world.