Slapende vrouw 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this drawing of a sleeping woman with ink on paper. The drawing is so immediate, so direct. It reminds me of my own process, just letting the line wander and find its way. The texture here is all in the lines, isn’t it? Some dark and dense, especially around the face, almost like she’s fading into the shadows. And then these long, delicate curves that suggest the rest of her form, with so much empty space around her. It’s like the essence of sleep, this in-between state where the body softens and blurs. I love how Israels captures that with so few marks. There's something so vulnerable about this image, the way she's curled up, exposed. It reminds me a bit of some of Degas’s more intimate drawings, that same fleeting glimpse into a private moment. It’s a reminder that art doesn’t always need to shout. Sometimes, it can whisper.