Abklatsch van de krijttekening op blad 19 verso 1875 - 1934

Isaac Israels made this ghostly print from a chalk drawing sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. Look at the subtle greys and blacks, the quiet way the image emerges, and the way the chalk seems to float. I think this image might have come into being through the act of transferring the original chalk drawing. I'm feeling sympathetic toward Israels right now, imagining him in his studio, making marks and then, in a second act, making those marks visible in a different way. The transfer, or "Abklatsch," can be a way to rethink the original drawing—an echo, a memory. It is a subtle, subdued version of the original. It reminds me of other artists who investigate the possibilities of drawing and reproduction, like Jasper Johns with his lithographs, or even Warhol, using a silkscreen to repeat and reconsider an image. It suggests that artists are always in an ongoing conversation across time, inspiring each other's creativity, rethinking what images can be and do.