Vrouw met hoed op de rand van een balkon 1887 - 1934

Isaac Israels drew "Vrouw met hoed op de rand van een balkon," using what looks like graphite on paper. Just looking at this drawing, it's clear that Israels was working fast, trying to capture a fleeting moment, like the light was about to change or something. And I wonder, was the woman on the balcony aware she was being drawn? The artist is using these really energetic marks to conjure this figure, and it's got this real gestural quality, right? You can almost feel his hand moving across the page, building up the shadows to give her form. And the hatched lines of the shading. I love the way they almost vibrate with energy. It’s like the whole drawing is alive and breathing. This drawing makes me think about all those other artists working at the time. They were all trying to figure out how to capture the speed and chaos of modern life. And you know, that conversation is still going on today.