Studie, mogelijk een figuurstudie 1875 - 1934

This drawing, "Studie, mogelijk een figuurstudie," was made by Isaac Israels. It’s a series of marks, almost like a seismograph reading, done with what looks like a graphite stick. I imagine Israels in front of his subject, maybe it's a figure study. The artist rapidly moving the graphite across the paper, trying to capture the essence of the thing. I know that feeling. There are some looping marks that seem to suggest a kind of volume, and then these straight lines, which could be anything—landscape, interior, who knows? It's all about the doing, the immediacy of the gesture. I'm so into the texture of the graphite itself, its powdery, slightly reflective surface. You can almost feel the pressure of the artist’s hand, the rhythm of their breath. It reminds me of Cy Twombly and other artists who let the gesture speak. It's like Israels is in conversation with them and with us. These simple marks speak volumes.