Landschap met grassen 1834 - 1911

Jozef Israëls made this sketch of a landscape with grasses in the Netherlands at the turn of the 20th century. It's a quick study, probably from nature. Israëls was associated with the Hague School, a group of Dutch realist painters who reacted against the rigid academic style of the time. They wanted to paint ordinary scenes of Dutch life. The art institutions of the day privileged grand historical narratives. But the Hague School was interested in the everyday. They found their subjects in the countryside and along the shore. We can understand Israëls' work as an effort to democratize art by representing the lives of ordinary people and creating an art that was accessible to a wider audience. To understand Israëls better, one could consult exhibition catalogs and reviews, and consider how the art market may have shaped his production.