Staande mannen en vrouwen 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this sketch of standing men and women with charcoal, on paper, sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. You know, with charcoal, it's like you're wrestling with this crumbly stuff, trying to pin down a thought, a feeling. Israels really goes for it here. Look at the quick, jumbled marks describing the figures to the left. The charcoal is applied so freely, so intuitively, that the figures almost seem to emerge from a haze of strokes. There is a real sense of movement and energy, like the artist was trying to capture a fleeting impression. This is not about perfection, but about the sheer joy of looking and the messy process of translating that onto paper. For me, Israels' sketches are like a conversation with artists like Daumier, who found so much expression in the everyday. It's a reminder that art isn't about having all the answers, but about asking the right questions and embracing the beauty of the unresolved.