Gezicht van een vrouw c. 1915s - 1925s

This pencil sketch, "Gezicht van een vrouw", was made by Isaac Israels, but we don’t know exactly when. What strikes me first is the economy of line. Israels isn’t fussing around with details; he's capturing the essence of a face with just a few strokes. I love that he leaves so much to the imagination. It’s like he's saying, "Here's a hint, now you fill in the rest." The way he renders the eyes is particularly interesting. They're these dark, intense pools that draw you in. I think the texture of the paper showing through gives the drawing a raw, immediate feel, like it was dashed off in a moment of inspiration. The smudges and erasures only add to this sense of process, reminding us that artmaking is not always about perfection, it’s about exploration. It reminds me of Degas' sketches, that same interest in fleeting moments. In the end, it’s the ambiguity that makes it so compelling.