Portrait of the Architect Jan Wils 1930

In 1930, Isaac Israels captured Jan Wils with oils, and right away I’m drawn to the way Israels used visible brushstrokes to build up Wils’s face. It's like he's sculpting with paint, finding the form through layers. I can almost feel Israels in the act of painting, trying to capture something essential about the architect. The surface of the painting isn't smooth or blended, but alive with touches of color. It's as though each stroke is a decision, a response to what’s already there, and the painting emerges through this exchange. The colors are muted—earthy pinks and grays—but they give Wils a solid, grounded presence. I wonder what it was like for Israels to create this. Did he see Wils as a fellow creator? Did he recognize the architect’s own process of building, mirroring his own way of making? Paintings like these remind me that the act of seeing is itself a form of building, and every artist stands on the shoulders of those who came before.