Portret van Nehemia de Lieme c. 1925s

Editor: Here we have Isaac Israels’ "Portret van Nehemia de Lieme," a drawing from around the 1920s, currently at the Rijksmuseum. The immediacy of the lines and the pose give it a feeling of a candid moment. What’s your take on it? Curator: This drawing speaks volumes about artistic labor and production in the early 20th century. Israels’ choice of pencil and paper – easily transportable, readily available – democratizes the act of portraiture. Instead of oil paints and commissioned settings, we see the artist engaging in quick, perhaps unsanctioned, documentation. Editor: Unsanctioned? Curator: Consider the sitter's attire and the casualness of the sketch. It isn't glorifying De Lieme as a bourgeois hero but rather presents a worker or an intellectual within their everyday context. How does the lack of precise details challenge the concept of traditional portraiture and elevate the everyday making it art? Editor: I guess by blurring lines…making this not “high art.” The quickness suggests he valued the subject’s character or social position beyond needing it perfectly captured… I like that challenge! Curator: Exactly! The *means* of production – simple tools, swift execution – underscore a shifting value system. Israels prioritizes observation, documenting individuals without needing a fancy setting and that shifts value from high art ideals to an observant person in society. This challenges notions of what and whom gets immortalized through art. Editor: That's a great way to think about it – as a subversion through the tools and the process itself, showing labor. The value is in the process of sketching itself. Curator: Precisely. Recognizing how even "simple" sketches can reveal powerful statements about the world around them by valuing different kinds of workers.