Figuurstudies 1875 - 1934

Curator: Here we have a page from Isaac Israels' sketchbook, entitled "Figuurstudies," dating somewhere between 1875 and 1934. It’s a work done in pencil, and it’s currently held here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: It feels like peeking into someone’s dream journal. Faint, ethereal... almost like figures emerging from the mist. You get this definite sense of movement. It looks intimate and ephemeral all at once, you know? Like a memory you are struggling to keep in your head. Curator: I'd agree with that, very evocative. What strikes me is the variety of line weights Israels employs. Look at the confident, dark strokes defining what appear to be a pair of shoes or feet in the foreground. Then compare it to the almost hesitant, faded lines used for the figures in the background. Editor: Exactly! It's this contrast that gives it that feeling of being caught between realities. Like he’s captured the half-formed thought right as it takes shape—or maybe right before it fades away. It’s a raw immediacy. Do you think it was maybe a quick study for some grander piece? Curator: Perhaps, but given the private nature of sketchbooks, I’m inclined to believe these were explorations for his own sake. A way to work through form, light, and maybe even ideas, without the pressure of creating a finished work. A kind of exercise, yes, but the purpose might have just been for the artist themselves. Look at how the pose in the center, that sense of dynamism isn’t just random—you see it later echo across his larger portraits. Editor: So, this wasn't necessarily practice, but play, then? A space to ask "What if?" without consequence. It shifts my whole understanding of the piece—not just the "how" of its making but the "why," too. Curator: Precisely. And in that playful spirit, we glimpse the seeds of his mature style. It underscores how essential these seemingly minor works can be to an artist’s larger practice. A valuable record of thinking made visible! Editor: Yes! Looking at this has definitely given me an altered perspective about what "finished" really means. It feels a bit wrong to call it a "sketch"—feels somehow very complete in its incompleteness!