Vrouw met hoed, in profiel 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this sketch of a woman with a hat, we don't know exactly when, and with what, but it looks like graphite on paper to me. The lines seem tentative and searching, like he's feeling his way around the form. I really respond to this approach as it foregrounds the physical act of drawing. It's all about the surface, the tooth of the paper, and how the graphite sits on it. You can see the pressure of the artist's hand in the varying darkness of the lines. Look at the way he's rendered the woman's hair – it's a flurry of activity, a scribble that somehow manages to convey the texture and volume. This piece reminds me a bit of Degas' drawings; it’s a quick impression, less concerned with capturing a likeness than with exploring the possibilities of the medium. It's like Israels is saying, "Here's what I saw, and here's how I translated it through the simple act of putting pencil to paper." It's not about perfection, it's about the joy of looking and the magic of making.