Figuren in badkleding op het strand 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this sketch of figures in bathing suits on the beach, probably in the early 20th century, using a pencil in a notebook. It's all about the quick capture of a scene. The looseness, the visible process, that's what grabs me. Look at the way he's scribbled in the figures, almost like he's trying to catch them mid-motion. It's like a flip-book of beach life. The marks are so direct, you can almost feel the scratch of the pencil on the page. The boat is barely there, just a few lines, yet it's enough. It's not about perfection, but about getting the essence of the moment down. You can see echoes of Impressionism in the way he captures light and movement. It reminds me a little of Degas and his dancers. There's a similar sense of fleeting observation, of capturing something ephemeral before it disappears. It's about the joy of looking and the pleasure of making marks, and how that can be enough.