Isaac Israelsartist • painter • watercolourist • draughtsmanAmsterdam 1865-1934 Den Haag
biography of 'Isaac' Lazarus Israels
Portrait of 'Isaac' Lazarus Israels
Isaac Israels is, together with George Hendrik Breitner, the most important representative of the Amsterdam Impressionists. These artists moved in the circle of the Tachtigers, a group of writers and poets who used the motto Art is passion. For the Amsterdam Impressionists, the painting was partly the expression of an artist's feeling and brushwork and palette had to be tailored to the subject. In contrast to their fellow painters from The Hague, who mainly depicted wealthy city life, they found their subjects on the street. They drew inspiration from popular cafes and dance houses and traveled to impoverished neighborhoods, harbors and construction sites, the places where the life of the common man took place. The Amsterdam artists put their impressions on the canvas with an eventful, sometimes fierce brushwork and a dramatic, dark colour palette of browns, reds and black, with white accents. With this they expressed their strong personal and social involvement in the gray life of these people. Israels painted fragments of 'accidental life', which he found in the shopping streets, coffee houses and café chantants where the busy city life took place. The artist recorded what he saw in a few striking charcoal lines or loose, quick brushstrokes with subtle colour accents. He also painted light-hearted beach scenes in Scheveningen and along the Italian Riviera and was an accomplished portraitist.
Born in 1865 as the son of Jozef Israëls, Isaac Israels was raised on painting. Within the Amsterdam Orthodox Jewish family where he grew up, much attention was paid to painting and literature; every year the family visited the Paris salon and visited leading European artists including Max Liebermann, and befriended art dealers. Isaac, who showed talent at an early age, was taken from school by his parents when he was thirteen to be apprenticed to his father. From 1878-1880 Isaac attended the Academy of The Hague, where Marius Bauer, Floris Verster and George Breitner were his fellow students. In 1881 Isaac made his debut at the Exhibition for Living Masters in The Hague with a painting that was immediately purchased by Hendrik Willem Mesdag, a good colleague of his father. Isaac, however, did not want to follow in the footsteps of his famous father. In his early years he initially concentrated on figure pieces, portraits, processions and especially military subjects. After that, Israels developed his own purpose; capturing an impression of a moment from full life, where it was not about the detailed elaboration, but the subject itself. He did this in a clear, colourful palette and a loose, impressionistic brushstroke. Not only does Isaac differ from his father in painting style, their subjects are also completely different. Where Jozef depicted emotions in heavy, sentimental works and the beach and dunes are the backdrop for Scheveningen fisherwomen and their children, the light-footed Isaac painted elegantly dressed ladies in summer toilets in the city and later bathers at the Lido of Venice or Viareggio beach. This distinguished himself from the French Impressionists, for whom elaborate light, sun and colour effects were the most important elements and earned him the nickname 'the Dutch Impressionist'.
Isaac's work shows clear affinity with that of George Hendrik Breitner, with whom he moved to Amsterdam in 1886. Israels became a member of Arti et Amicitiae and included in the circle of De Nieuwe Gids. With Breitner and his friend Frans Erens, critic and writer, Israels wandered through Amsterdam at night and visited pubs and dance houses. The city prompted Israels and Breitner to paint fleeting moments from city life, daring oil paintings of pedestrians at night, maids and the old neighborhoods, which earned them the name 'Amsterdam Impressionists'. They also introduced the photographic 'snapshot', by adding radical cut-offs to their paintings.
In the summer, Isaac was in Scheveningen, where he lived in a rented house with his father and captured the beach and boulevard in fast, virtuoso brushstrokes and a sunny palette. Around 1900, thanks to Thérèse Schwartze, he was introduced to the Amsterdam fashion warehouse Hirsch on Leidseplein, where he painted seamstresses, mannequins and ladies' dresses. Hirsch's sisters Ippy and Gertie, mannequins, were his beloved models, whom we see worked out in great detail in the early work, while in later years Israels sketched out the fashion silhouette.
In 1903, Israels moved to Paris, where he lived for ten years and where he found in abundance what he has always been looking for: dance houses, cabarets, and the elegant world of haute couture. Israel could gain access to exclusive fashion houses as Paquin and Drecoll, where he not only observed the wealthy clientele, but also could capture the work of seamstresses and hat makers, in their work, but also in their lunch in the nearby Tuileries. In addition, the park views with elegant riders and elegantly dressed women on a bench inspired him to paint in pastel or watercolour techniques. It is remarkable that his work found little appreciation in France, while in Dutch terms it had a very 'French' feel. After his time in Paris, the travel-loving Israels went to London for two years in 1913-1915, where the riders and amazons on Rotten Row in Hyde Park were often his subject, but also boxers and ballerinas. This was followed by a stay in Switzerland, after which he settled back in the Netherlands and stayed alternately in The Hague, Amsterdam and Scheveningen. In 1921-1922 he made a trip to the Dutch East Indies where he stayed mainly on Java and visited the island of Bali, where he painted many female figures.
After returning from the Dutch East Indies, Israels settled permanently in the house of his deceased parents at Koninginnegracht 2 in The Hague. He would live here - apart from a number of short trips - until his death. In the latter period in The Hague he gained a lot of recognition in the Netherlands and he received a large number of portrait commissions. The ever-present attention to the fringes of life was expressed in later life in his interest in circus, cabaret, theater and cafes. Israel's extensive oeuvre of some 3000-4000 paintings and thousands of drawings, watercolours and pastels can be considered more or less as isolated. His legacy consists of sunny beach scenes with donkey-riding children, portraits of famous actresses and writers, fairground and circus scenes with wrestlers and acrobats, cityscapes with Amsterdam and Parisian street life, fashionable ladies in the latest fashion and café interiors with dancing couples or a lonely drinking woman; he made portraits of celebrities such as Mata Hari and feminist doctor Aletta Jacobs, but he also painted anonymous Amsterdam street girls, hat makers and telephone operators. Israels stuck to his once acquired style and hardly renewed himself. According to his friend Frans Erens, he was a good and righteous person who, always remained alone, lived a sober and withdrawn life, which made him look reserved. He could not harm anyone, did not like formality and convention and was always looking for the 'real' in everything.
On October 7, 1934, two days after he was hit by a car, Israels died at home from internal injuries.
previously for salepaintings, watercolours and drawings by Isaac Israels
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Portrait of a young woman
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
In the danshouse, Amsterdam
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Portrait of a young woman
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Sari Cohen (the cousin of Isaac Israels) and her daughter Eida on the Champs-Elysées in Parijs
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Young boy on the beach in Scheveningen
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
The Drummer
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Sleeping woman
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Portrait of the artist's friend Sophie de Vries
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
In the danshouse, Amsterdam
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Self-portrait with model in studio
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Young lady with a fringe
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Strolling on the 'Scheveningen pier'
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Reclining female nude
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Parading on the Scheveningen Pier
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Flower still life
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
A pretty pose in front of Van Gogh's Sunflowers
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Ladies on the beach, Viareggio
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Figures on the beach of Il Lido di Venezia
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Sophie in interior
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
The beach, Viareggio
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Portrait of Sophie de Vries
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Lady in a red dress
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
A ride in Hyde Park, London
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Picnic in the Bois de Boulogne, Paris
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Young lady in grey
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
A sunny day on the beach at Viareggio
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
A female nude
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
The donkey ride on the beach of Scheveningen
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Woman on the beach
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
A portrait of the writer Jo de Wit
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
In the park
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Smiling young woman
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Sunbathing on the beach of Viareggio
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
A young woman, rowing on the Thames
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
At the beach, Viareggio
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Trying on fabrics in Maison Wijnman, The Hague
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Sleaping nude
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Figures on the beach of 'Il Lido di Venezia'
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
A donkey ride
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
A horsewoman, Hyde park London
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
A reclining nude (Sjaantje van Ingen)
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
A lady on the beach of Aix-les Bains
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Outdoor café
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
A reclining nude (Sjaantje van Ingen)
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
The café Scala, The Hague
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Portret van Willy Gordeau
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Figures on the beach
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Three sisters
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
A cavalry man of the Bouree Academy
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
A portrait of J. Wolterbeek-Muller
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Elegant ladies on a terrace, Bois de Boulogne
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
An elegant lady on a chair, Bois de Boulogne
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Houses
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Orchestra from Bali
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Elegant lady on the beach
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Nude
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
College days
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Rider on the beach
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Studio Paquin, Paris
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
'Fien de la Mar' performing at the Scala-theatre, The Hague
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
A view of the Muntplein, Amsterdam
Isaac Israels
painting • previously for sale
Young lady with a cap
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
A lady with a hat
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
Making up
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
Woman with a blue hat in Amsterdam shopping district, by night
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
In the café
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
A busy day, Scheveningen beach
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
In the Bois de Boulogne
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
Seamstresses at the Atelier Paquin, Paris
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
Dancing women - Amsterdam
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
Beach scene, Italy
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
A lady with a hat
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
Lady on an balcony, Paris
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
Dance hall on the Zeedijk
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
Woman at the beach of Scheveningen
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
Woman reading
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
A seated nude
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
At the Longchamp races, Paris
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
A woman, reading
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
In the cloth shop of Wijnman, The Hague
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
Seated lady with flowers in Bern
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
A sunny day on the Scheveningen boulevard
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
Through the Rain; the Leliegracht in Amsterdam
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
A donkey-ride on the beach of Scheveningen
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
Avenue du Bois de Boulogne, Paris
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
The fashion house
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
Children in the park
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
An elegant lady in a park
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
A fashionable woman
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
Reclining nude
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
Woman in an Amsterdam street; verso: a woman’s portrait
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
Merry-go-round, Paris
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
Seamstress smoking
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
At the fair
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
With the seamstress, Hirsch
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
A man by a rowing boat on the river Thames
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
A child
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
Children by a table
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
A seated child (study)
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
Child's heads (study)
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
Dinner-dance
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
A reclining nude in front of a fire-place
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
A tightrope dancer, La Scala Theatre, Milan
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
A portrait of Lola Cornero, Scheveningen
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
The dancer
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
A view of the Leliegracht, Amsterdam 1894
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
An elegant lady
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • previously for sale
Boxer
for salepaintings, watercolours and drawings by Isaac Israels
Isaac Israels
painting • for sale
Amazons riding on the beach of Scheveningen
Isaac Israels
painting • for sale
Woman with cigarette
Isaac Israels
painting • for sale
The fashion studio
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • for sale
Making up
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • for sale
A day in the Oosterpark, Amsterdam
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • for sale
Dance hall on the Zeedijk
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • for sale
A gunner on the beach
Isaac Israels
watercolour • drawing • for sale
Scheveningen fisherwomen on the boulevard; reverse: Three fisherwomen
Open all year round
Tuesday to Saturday from 11-17 hours and by appointment
We and our partners use functional and analytical cookies for website optimization, statistics and personalized advertisements. By using our website or entering into an agreement, you indicate that you accept our privacy policy. I accept
Lees meer
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.