Isaac Lazarus Israels was a Dutch painter associated with the Amsterdam Impressionism movement. Born on February 3, 1865, in the Netherlands, he was the son of Jozef Israëls, one of the most respected painters of the Hague School, and Aleida Schaap. Israels displayed precocious artistic talent from an early age and went on to become a renowned painter in his own right.
Early Life and Education
Between 1880 and 1882, Israels studied at the
Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, where he met
George Hendrik Breitner who was to become a lifelong friend. In 1881, when he was just 16, he sold a painting,
Bugle Practice, even before it was finished to the artist and collector
Hendrik Willem Mesdag. Two portraits he made in the same year of his grandmother and a family friend,
Nannette Enthoven, attest to the technical ability he had attained by that age.
Artistic Career
Israels' artistic career was marked by his association with the Amsterdam Impressionism movement. He was influenced by the philosophy of the Tachtigers, a group of writers and artists who believed that style must reflect content and that emotionally charged subjects can only be represented by an equally intense technique. As a result, Israels became a painter of the streets, cafes, and cabarets of Amsterdam. He often spent his summers with his father in the Dutch seaside resort of Scheveningen near The Hague, where he painted many colorful seaside scenes.
Some of his notable works include
Transport of Colonial Soldiers, which can be found at the
Kröller-Müller Museum, and
The Coffee Sorters, which is housed at the
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. Israels also painted a portrait of
Mata Hari, the famous Dutch spy, which can be seen at the
Kröller-Müller Museum.
Later Life and Legacy
Israels moved to Paris in 1904, where he established his studio and painted the city's specific motifs. He also sought out the fashion houses Paquin and Drecoll to continue his studies of the world of fashion. At the outbreak of World War I, Israels returned to Holland, where he worked primarily as a portrait painter. After the war, he visited Paris, Copenhagen, Stockholm, and London, and spent two years traveling in India and the Dutch East Indies, sketching and painting the vibrant life of South East Asia.
Israels' legacy can be seen in his numerous paintings, which are now housed in museums such as the
Van Gogh Museum and the Mauritshuis. His work continues to inspire art lovers and scholars alike. For more information on Israels and his works, visit
WahooArt.com or
Wikipedia.