Vrouw met hoed c. 1915s - 1925s

This drawing, "Vrouw met hoed," by Isaac Israels looks like it was made in one sitting with graphite pencil, maybe even on location. Imagine Israels, quickly sketching the woman and her hat, line after line, trying to capture what he sees. I wonder, what was Israels thinking as he drew? Was he trying to capture the woman's essence, or was he more interested in the way the light played on her face? The strokes here are pretty wild. The marks are searching, building up the image piece by piece. See how the scribbled lines around the woman's hat and face create a sense of volume, while the rest of the drawing is much lighter and more suggestive. The overall effect is one of immediacy and spontaneity. Israels was part of a whole generation of artists who were trying to capture the fleeting moments of modern life. And in this little drawing, I think he really nailed it. His mark-making is the physical record of an artist thinking, and the joy of painting is right there on the surface.