Vrouw met meisje aan de hand 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this drawing, Vrouw met meisje aan de hand, with crayon on paper. It's a study in seeing, really, and the process is right there on the surface. The lines are immediate, searching – you can almost feel the artist figuring out the forms as he goes. There’s this beautiful simplicity in how he captures the essence of the figures with just a few strokes. Look at the dress of the woman on the left, how the crayon is applied in thick strokes with a lot of pressure and then fades away. It looks like the mark-making of Daumier. It's all about suggestion, not definition. Israels gives us just enough information to fill in the blanks ourselves, which is always exciting. I think of Degas and his quick impressions of dancers. It’s like he’s saying, ‘Here’s a glimpse, now you bring your own imagination to the party.’ And that’s what makes art an ongoing conversation, isn’t it? Not about answers, but about possibilities.