Kleedkamer bij Hirsch (Hirsch's Dressing Room)Signed lower leftOil on canvas, 129.6 x 65.4 cmProvenance:- Van Voorst van Beest Gallery, The Hague- Private collection, the Netherlands- Private collection, the NetherlandsLiterature:D. Welling, Isaac Israels: The Sunny World of a Hague Cosmopolitan, Van Voorst van Beets Gallery, The Hague, 1991, p. 31 (ill.)Exhibition:Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, Isaac Israels en de mode, 7 December 2002 - 9 March 2003Note:As can be seen from this outstanding work on offer, Isaac Israels preferred quite different subjects from those painted by his father, the Hague School painter Josef Israëls. Rather than concerning himself with the lives of farm workers and fisherfolk, Isaac threw himself into the bustle and excitement of city life and fashion.Strongly influenced by the French poet and art critic Charles Baudelaire, who cited fashion as the ultimate symbol of modernity, Israels was much inspired by beautiful, fashionably dressed women. He started to explore the world of haute couture after being introduced to fashion house Hirsch in Amsterdam by 'Joffer' painter Thérèse Schwartze (1851-1918). Here he was given access to fashion shows, the sewing ateliers and even fitting rooms. Later, the widely-travelled artist was drawn into the whirlwind of the fashion world of Paris, with its’ elegant clientele on the one hand and the drudgery of the sewing workshops on the other.Although Israels really saw the fashion world from the inside, he always remained an impressionist in his work by keeping his distance while reporting his own sensations. He avoided glamorous portrayals of the world of fashion: by following his father’s realist traditions he captured his impressions always with virtuoso flair.* Condition report available upon request