Studie, mogelijk een figuurstudie c. 1925s

This is Isaac Israels’s ‘Studie, mogelijk een figuurstudie’, a drawing. It's a sketch, just a few lines of blue on paper, probably from a sketchbook, capturing a face with a kind of tentative curiosity. I love how the lines are so light, almost like they're breathing. The texture of the paper peeks through, reminding you it’s an object, not just an image. Look at that one dark line defining the nose – it suggests a whole face, a whole person, with such economy! It's like Israels is saying, "Here's a glimpse, a suggestion," and leaving the rest up to us. It makes me think of other artists like Manet, who also knew how to say so much with so little. Art isn't always about filling in all the blanks, sometimes it's about leaving space for the viewer to meet the artist halfway. It's like a conversation, an exchange of ideas and feelings.