Jozef Israëls (1824-1911)
'Jour de repos' / The card players
signed 'Jozef Israels' (lower left)
oil on canvas, 136x187 cm
Painted in 1876.
Exhibited:
-Philadelphia, Memorial Hall, 'International exhibition', 10 May-10 November 1876, no. 6, (no. 47a), as: 'The Card-Players'.
-(Possibly) London, Goupil, 1878.
-Amsterdam, Arti et Amicitiae, 'Retrospective Tentoonstelling, Ter gelegenheid van het 70-jarig bestaan van de Maatschappij', 1909, no. 59.
-Venice, Biennale, 'IX Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte della citta di Venezia', 22 April-31 October 1910, no. 6, as: 'I giuocatori'.
-The Hague, Pulchri Studio, 'Eeretentoonstelling Jozef Israels, December 1911-January 1912', no. 40, as: 'De spelers'.
-Eindhoven, Museum Kempenland, 'Verborgen kostelijkheden in de regio; een keuze uit particulier bezit', April-May 1986, no. 74.
-Groningen, Groninger Museum, 'Jozef Israels, Meester van het Sentiment', 19 December 1999-5 March 2000, no. 33, as: 'De kaartspelers'.
Literature:
-C. Vosmaer, 'Josef Israels', The Hague 1881, p. 5, as: 'De spelers'.
-N.H. Wolff, De kunst: een algemeen geïllustreerd en artistiek weekblad, 1911.
-Dieuwertje Dekkers, 'Jozef Israels: een succesvol schilder van het vissersgenre', Utrecht 1994, pp. 151, 170, C224, 437, no. 8a, as: 'De kaartspelers'.
-Dieuwertje Dekkers, ' "Where are the Dutchmen?" Promoting the Hague School in America 1875-1900', in Simiolus, 24 (1996) I, p. 62, as: 'The players'.
-Dieuwertje Dekkers, 'Jozef Israels 1824-1911', Zwolle 1999, pp. 194-195, no. 33, as: 'De kaartspelers', where dated 1876.
Provenance:
-Collection Mr. F.H.M. Post, The Hague, by 1876; His auction, Amsterdam, 14 April 1891, lot 40 (Sold for 13.100 Dfl.), as: 'Jour de repos'.
-(Possibly) With Kunsthandel A. Preyer, Amsterdam/The Hague (according to the RKD), by 1891.
-Collection Mr. Pieter Langerhuizen, Crailoo, 1891-1918; His auction, Frederik Muller, Amsterdam, 29 October 1918, lot 49 (Sold for 21.500 Dfl.), as: 'Jour de repos'.
-With Kunsthandel Buffa & Zonen, Amsterdam, 1918, as: 'Zorg en verstrooiing'.
-Collection Mr. W.F. van Heukelom; His auction, Frederik Muller, Amsterdam, 12 October 1937, lot 17 (Sold for 41.000 Dfl.), as: 'Une heure reposante'.
-Collection Mr. van Beveren, 1937.
-Collection Mr. J. Lierens, Amsterdam; His auction, Frederik Muller, Amsterdam, 8 October 1949, lot 4 (Sold for 5.000 Dfl.).
-Auction, Christie's, Amsterdam, 13 June 2017, lot 185, where acquired by the present owner.
This astounding painting depicts a fisherman's interior in which three men around a table are playing a game of cards. However the leading role is assigned to the housewife who, with her child in her arms, has a hopeless look in her eyes. In this painting, Jozef Israëls shows the social consequences of gambling and drinking and the loss of money that came with it. He had already incorporated this theme into a painting ‘An Unhappy Woman’ in 1859. Israëls found that the simple and hard life of fishermen and farmers had far more meaning to him than the historical subjects he painted earlier. His use of raw brushstrokes, dark tones and clair-obscur all contribute to the dramatizing effect that is achieved in the painting. This present lot was part of the Dutch submission to the Philadelphia World's Fair in 1876.
In painting, the theme of the social consequences of drunkenness was seldom implemented, on very rare occasions in the Düsseldorf School. The subject of ‘card games’ has a long tradition in art history and was especially popular in the seventeenth century. During the nineteenth century the theme enjoyed renewed interest from artists inspired by the Golden Age. Jozef Israëls also made use of this theme, however he was different from his contemporaries. He was a pioneer of the emerging social realism, in which he portrayed the harsh reality of the poor hard-working labourer's life in an unpolished matter. The reason that Israëls switched to depicting the fishing life was most probably due to his stay in Zandvoort in the summer of 1855. He moved there for his health and was deeply impressed by the rough life of the poor fishermen on the coast.
Jozef Israëls was one of the leading members of The Hague School and one of the best known Dutch painters of his time. He is praised for his beach scenes, fishing scenes and depictions of Jewish history. In 1856 Israëls achieved his first success with 'Past Mother’s Grave', which was purchased by the Royal Academy of Amsterdam and is now in the collection of the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam. His first international success came when 'Shipwrecked Fisherman' attracted much attention at the Salon of 1861 in Paris and the international exhibition of 1862 in London. Israëls trained many disciples, including his son Isaac. In the eyes of Van Gogh, Israëls was 'a Dutch Millet'. Israel's work inspired Van Gogh to create his famous painting 'The Potato Eaters'.
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
'Jour de repos' / The card players
signed 'Jozef Israels' (lower left)
oil on canvas, 136x187 cm
Painted in 1876.
Exhibited:
-Philadelphia, Memorial Hall, 'International exhibition', 10 May-10 November 1876, no. 6, (no. 47a), as: 'The Card-Players'.
-(Possibly) London, Goupil, 1878.
-Amsterdam, Arti et Amicitiae, 'Retrospective Tentoonstelling, Ter gelegenheid van het 70-jarig bestaan van de Maatschappij', 1909, no. 59.
-Venice, Biennale, 'IX Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte della citta di Venezia', 22 April-31 October 1910, no. 6, as: 'I giuocatori'.
-The Hague, Pulchri Studio, 'Eeretentoonstelling Jozef Israels, December 1911-January 1912', no. 40, as: 'De spelers'.
-Eindhoven, Museum Kempenland, 'Verborgen kostelijkheden in de regio; een keuze uit particulier bezit', April-May 1986, no. 74.
-Groningen, Groninger Museum, 'Jozef Israels, Meester van het Sentiment', 19 December 1999-5 March 2000, no. 33, as: 'De kaartspelers'.
Literature:
-C. Vosmaer, 'Josef Israels', The Hague 1881, p. 5, as: 'De spelers'.
-N.H. Wolff, De kunst: een algemeen geïllustreerd en artistiek weekblad, 1911.
-Dieuwertje Dekkers, 'Jozef Israels: een succesvol schilder van het vissersgenre', Utrecht 1994, pp. 151, 170, C224, 437, no. 8a, as: 'De kaartspelers'.
-Dieuwertje Dekkers, ' "Where are the Dutchmen?" Promoting the Hague School in America 1875-1900', in Simiolus, 24 (1996) I, p. 62, as: 'The players'.
-Dieuwertje Dekkers, 'Jozef Israels 1824-1911', Zwolle 1999, pp. 194-195, no. 33, as: 'De kaartspelers', where dated 1876.
Provenance:
-Collection Mr. F.H.M. Post, The Hague, by 1876; His auction, Amsterdam, 14 April 1891, lot 40 (Sold for 13.100 Dfl.), as: 'Jour de repos'.
-(Possibly) With Kunsthandel A. Preyer, Amsterdam/The Hague (according to the RKD), by 1891.
-Collection Mr. Pieter Langerhuizen, Crailoo, 1891-1918; His auction, Frederik Muller, Amsterdam, 29 October 1918, lot 49 (Sold for 21.500 Dfl.), as: 'Jour de repos'.
-With Kunsthandel Buffa & Zonen, Amsterdam, 1918, as: 'Zorg en verstrooiing'.
-Collection Mr. W.F. van Heukelom; His auction, Frederik Muller, Amsterdam, 12 October 1937, lot 17 (Sold for 41.000 Dfl.), as: 'Une heure reposante'.
-Collection Mr. van Beveren, 1937.
-Collection Mr. J. Lierens, Amsterdam; His auction, Frederik Muller, Amsterdam, 8 October 1949, lot 4 (Sold for 5.000 Dfl.).
-Auction, Christie's, Amsterdam, 13 June 2017, lot 185, where acquired by the present owner.
This astounding painting depicts a fisherman's interior in which three men around a table are playing a game of cards. However the leading role is assigned to the housewife who, with her child in her arms, has a hopeless look in her eyes. In this painting, Jozef Israëls shows the social consequences of gambling and drinking and the loss of money that came with it. He had already incorporated this theme into a painting ‘An Unhappy Woman’ in 1859. Israëls found that the simple and hard life of fishermen and farmers had far more meaning to him than the historical subjects he painted earlier. His use of raw brushstrokes, dark tones and clair-obscur all contribute to the dramatizing effect that is achieved in the painting. This present lot was part of the Dutch submission to the Philadelphia World's Fair in 1876.
In painting, the theme of the social consequences of drunkenness was seldom implemented, on very rare occasions in the Düsseldorf School. The subject of ‘card games’ has a long tradition in art history and was especially popular in the seventeenth century. During the nineteenth century the theme enjoyed renewed interest from artists inspired by the Golden Age. Jozef Israëls also made use of this theme, however he was different from his contemporaries. He was a pioneer of the emerging social realism, in which he portrayed the harsh reality of the poor hard-working labourer's life in an unpolished matter. The reason that Israëls switched to depicting the fishing life was most probably due to his stay in Zandvoort in the summer of 1855. He moved there for his health and was deeply impressed by the rough life of the poor fishermen on the coast.
Jozef Israëls was one of the leading members of The Hague School and one of the best known Dutch painters of his time. He is praised for his beach scenes, fishing scenes and depictions of Jewish history. In 1856 Israëls achieved his first success with 'Past Mother’s Grave', which was purchased by the Royal Academy of Amsterdam and is now in the collection of the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam. His first international success came when 'Shipwrecked Fisherman' attracted much attention at the Salon of 1861 in Paris and the international exhibition of 1862 in London. Israëls trained many disciples, including his son Isaac. In the eyes of Van Gogh, Israëls was 'a Dutch Millet'. Israel's work inspired Van Gogh to create his famous painting 'The Potato Eaters'.
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
