Isaac Israels

Jozef Israëls’s son, Isaac Israels (1865–1934) was raised on a diet of painting and travel. At thirteen, he entered art school in The Hague, where his prodigious talent was soon noticed. In 1881, he began a painting that was purchased before it was completed by Hendrik Willem Mesdag. In 1886, Israels enrolled at Amsterdam’s Art Academy, where he was considered ‘too good’. Israels often spent the summer months with his father in Scheveningen, where he painted seaside scenes in bright colours. In Amsterdam, Israels spent much of his time with George Hendrik Breitner. Both were fascinated by the idea of portraying city life by capturing a passing moment in time. To convey the sense of a snapshot, they cropped their subjects abruptly. Israels was in Paris, London and briefly in the Dutch East Indies from 1903 to 1923. He then returned to The Hague and took over his father's studio. There he remained, producing impressionist paintings in light colours.