Schets van een landschap 1834 - 1911

Jozef Israëls created this landscape sketch with pen and grey ink, and brush in grey and brown, on paper. Israëls, of Jewish heritage, lived in a time when the landscape became a vessel for national identity. Here we see how the artist seeks to capture the essence of the Dutch countryside. However, rather than a straightforward depiction, the emotional weight of the landscape invites us to consider the symbolic potential of the land itself. The landscape holds a mirror to the soul, reflecting not just the visible world but also the internal landscape of the viewer. There is a sense of quiet resilience within the landscape that speaks to the character of a people shaped by their relationship to the land.