Isaac Israels Dutch, 1865-1934

Collection J.M.P. Glerum, Amsterdam
Sale Amsterdam, Collection Glerum, part II, 2 May 1933, lot 82, illustrated
Private collection, The Netherlands

Isaac Israels painted the present lot during his stay in London. He went there in the spring of 1913 and rented a studio on Fitzroy street, where he stayed until the fall of 1914. The city of London became a great source of inspiration for the Dutch painter. Israels was fascinated by the crowded streets of Regent Street, Picadilly Circus and the West End, which he sometimes viewed from the top of a bus. His sensitive eye was also attracted to the elegant amazones in Hyde Park, along Rotten Row, and the boating ladies on the Thames near Richmond. His friends, the painter Jan Poortenaar and writer Frans Erens, visited Israels and witnessed how the city revived his artistic powers. The women he painted in London are depicted - as the present lot shows well - in lively, 'French' colours and freely applied brushstrokes. Clearly he was still working in the vein of his fruitful Paris years (1903-1913), when his palette became more radiant and his technique spontaneous and loose. His style had now reached maturity, keeping the time delay between his impressions and its registration on the canvas as short as possible. This unique gift served him as the basis to become Holland's most successful impressionist.

Onderschrift bij steunfoto: Moored boats near Richmond, sold in these rooms on 17 April 2000, lot 379.