Schetsblad met twee studies van Jozef Israëls aan het werk 1874 - 1925

Jan Veth created this sketch with graphite on paper, portraying Jozef Israëls at work. The drawing presents a layered composition. The skeletal lines sketch out the artist's form with a palpable sense of immediacy. The two studies overlap; one showing the artist holding a brush, the other, obscured with cross-hatching, captures the subject in a moment of obscured contemplation. Veth’s marks, like rapid notations, create a dual image that invites contemplation on the nature of artistic creation. The cross-hatching might represent a screen, suggesting a kind of masking or a barrier, or perhaps it serves to abstract and destabilize the complete form. The interplay of clarity and obscurity, presence and absence, creates a tension. This tension not only reflects the act of observing another artist, but also engages with broader themes of representation and perception. It asks us to consider what is revealed and concealed in the act of looking.