Schetsboek IV met 27 bladen met studies van vrouwelijk naakt 1875 - 1934

This sketchbook with studies of female nudes was made by Isaac Israels, but the date is unknown. I like to think about the quiet moments alone in the studio. What was it like to create these works? It must have been an intuitive process, starting and stopping, with the artist allowing the figures to emerge from the page. Each gesture carries intention and meaning. Israels’s sketches remind me of other artists, like Degas, who were also interested in capturing the human form through drawing. These drawings feel like they are part of an ongoing conversation about the body. It's kind of a beautiful thing, all these artists responding to each other across time. They inspire each other's creativity. Painting and drawing are forms of embodied expression, embracing the ambiguity and uncertainty that allow for multiple interpretations. This is an invitation to think for ourselves and question our assumptions.