Paard-en-wagen 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this sketch of a horse and carriage with delicate strokes of charcoal. Look at the wispy lines, smudged and blurred, as if he were trying to capture something fleeting, a moment in time just as it’s slipping away. I can imagine Israels standing on a busy street corner, quickly sketching the scene before him. The charcoal marks are so minimal, yet they evoke a sense of movement and energy. You can almost hear the clatter of hooves and the rumble of wheels on cobblestones. There’s a raw honesty to this sketch, a directness of expression. He's part of a community of artists, all riffing off each other, trying out new ideas. It’s like a visual conversation across time, each artist building on what came before. And that's what makes painting so exciting, right? It's not about having all the answers, but about embracing the questions and seeing where they lead.