Isaac Israels

He was just 16 when he debuted at the 1881 Exhibition of Living Masters, in The Hague where the artist and collector Hendrik Willem Mesdag bought one of his paintings before it was even completed. Israels spent many of his summers with his father in the coastal town of Scheveningen, near The Hague, painting bright beach scenes. Initially living In Amsterdam he spent much of his time with fellow impressionist George Hendrik Breitner. They both took a radical approach to compositional framing that echoed photographic snapshots, capturing fleeting moments of life in the city. Israels travelled to Paris, London and the Dutch colonies in Southeast Asia, but always returned to his home base in The Hague. Here, in his father’s studio, he continued to create his vibrant paintings until his death.