Jozef Israels

Jozef Israels. Vinkenbos & Dewald (photography studio), Delboy-Baer (publisher).

Jozef Israëls (1824–1911) was born into a Jewish family of modest means and enjoyed a traditional Jewish education; indeed, as a young man he seriously considered studying for the rabbinate. Van Gogh apart, he is generally considered the greatest Dutch painter of the nineteenth century. He was particularly well known for his portrayals of the dire circumstances of many North Sea fishermen and their families, as well as a number of paintings with Jewish motifs, notably “David Playing the Harp before Saul”, “Son of the Ancient People” and “Jewish Wedding”. Following a visit to Israëls’s studio on 1 October 1898, Theodor Herzl wrote in his diary: “A short, agile smart old little Jew. He is just painting David playing the harp before Saul. I explained Zionism to him and recruited him. He thought the idea beautiful.” In truth, although he was a paid-up member of the movement, Israëls’s commitment to Zionism was lacklustre at best. When Israëls died in 1911, Leopold Pilichowski (1869–1933) recalled a meeting with this “great ‘rabbi’ of painting”. Israëls had asked him, “whether I only painted Jews. He was extremely pleased when I answered that I also painted the heavens, the earth and Gentiles ... one of the ‘g’dolei b’yisrael’ has passed! Max Liebermann succeeds him at the helm of the many talented Jewish artists. May they … continue to give the lie to all those who stubbornly claim that the Jews have no aptitude for the fine arts.” (Ost und West, August/September 1911) Isaac Israëls (1865–1934) initially trained with his father and went on to become a leading Dutch impressionist.