Landschap 1834 - 1911

Jozef Israëls made this landscape with pencil on paper, likely in the Netherlands sometime in the mid to late 19th century. Israëls belonged to the Hague School, a group of Dutch artists who reacted against the rigid academic style of the time. You can see a deliberate rejection of polish in the quick, unfinished marks. The Hague School sought to portray everyday life and the landscape with a sense of realism and intimacy. They often focused on the lives of ordinary people, particularly those in rural communities. Israëls, in particular, was known for his sympathetic portrayals of the working class. To understand this drawing fully, one could delve into the archives of the Hague School, examining their manifestos and exhibition catalogs. We can look at the social and economic conditions of the Netherlands at the time, paying attention to the rise of industrialization and its impact on rural life. This is the work of the art historian, to understand art as a product of its time.