The Mannequins Ippy and Gertie at Hirsch, Amsterdam 1917

Isaac Israels made this painting of mannequins at Hirsch in Amsterdam with oil on canvas. Hirsch & Co. was one of Amsterdam's leading fashion houses, an important department store that catered to the wealthy. Israels was well known for capturing modern life in the Netherlands, and he spent a good deal of time backstage and behind the scenes. This is where we find him here, among the fashionable displays and trendy garments in this commercial space. What is striking is that this is not a painting of fashion. It is a painting of mannequins, the figures that display fashion, with two women named Ippy and Gertie. Their gestures are more like those of shop workers, arranging items for display. Israels implicates them in the business of fashion, as he also emphasizes the labor of art and artifice in modern life. Art historians are key to interpreting art, delving into archives, newspapers and printed ephemera to understand the social conditions that shape artistic production.