Figuurstudies 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made these Figuurstudies with a pencil and paper. Look at these quick marks, the artist was probably trying to capture a likeness, a feeling, of the scene in front of them. I know this way of working. It’s about seeing and responding, about trying out different ways of figuring something out. I can almost see the artist’s hand moving across the page, a flurry of lines trying to catch the light, the pose, the person, as if they were about to vanish. There’s a real sense of energy, the artist thinking through the pencil, each line a decision, a question, a possibility. It reminds me how artists are always in conversation with each other, picking up ideas, responding, and pushing things forward. It's like we're all part of a big, messy, beautiful experiment, trying to make sense of the world one mark at a time. I think the process is never really finished; we keep going, keep exploring, and keep finding new ways to see.