Jozef Israels

E.J. van Wisselingh & Co., Amsterdam
Budapest Museum, Hungary, acquired in 1909, no. 3889
In the family of the present owner since 1948

Original canvas. Some craquelure, mainly in the lower part. Some retouches due to frame abrasion. Retouched area of approx. 15 by 10 cm. between the table and the figure to the far left. Some very minor filled in craquelure near the centre of the lower edge and two old retouches around the head of the woman. A retouched area of 9 by 7 cm. near the centre right edge. The figures are untouched.
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Jozef Israels was undeniably one of the most celebrated Dutch painters of his time. In Holland as well as abroad he was regarded as one of the pioneers of realism, expressing himself in large genre paintings depicting events in the lives of peasants and fisherfolk. During a stay in the fishing village Zandvoort (1855), Israels decided to become a painter of genre scenes. He realised that the hard, simple life of farmers and fishermen had far more meaning to him than the elevated historical subjects he painted up till then. Another factor contributing to Israels' change of ideas were his visits to Barbizon in the early fifties, where the life of peasants caught his attention. He studied peasants at work and painted farminteriors. Although it has always been assumed that he didn't have contact with the group of painters staying there, it can hardly be coincidental that the work of Israels shows close resemblance to that of Jean Francois Millet, a leading member of the Barbizon School.

Israels' new subject matter proved to be successful. The humble scenes of peasants and fishermen were greeted with enthusiasm by progressive as well as conservative critics. Thore-Burger, reviewing the Paris World Fair of 1867, called him one of the most talented painters of his time, praising his quest for 'truth' and 'naturalness'. French critics almost unanimously labelled Israels the leading spirit of a new movement in Dutch painting, called  the 'Hague School'. Israels' contemplative approach and humble subjects also earned praise of contemporary painters, such as Vincent van Gogh, who was a strong admirer of his work.

The present lot was painted at the height of Israels' career. As Jos W. de Gruyter remarks in his book on the Hague School (1968), paintings such as the present lot show how Israels' had refined away from over-dramatisation of his early work and simplified his method of portraying his vision of an existential acceptance of the circumstances of life, however bitter. The people in these paintings are entirely at one with their surroundings, every nuance of light and every detail contributing to the total effect'.