Knielende en voorovergebogen man 1834 - 1911

Jozef Israëls made this pencil drawing of kneeling figures sometime in the 19th century. These figures are bent low, perhaps in labor or supplication. This simple sketch offers us a window into the social consciousness of the artist and the era. Israëls was a key figure in the Hague School, a movement that turned away from the grand historical canvases of the Romantic era to focus on the everyday lives of ordinary people in the Netherlands. This drawing, with its intimate portrayal of human toil, reflects that shift in artistic focus. The artist elevates the common person, turning the back-breaking work of the field into a subject worthy of artistic contemplation. To truly understand this work, we can look into the history of Dutch agrarian life during the 19th century. What were the social conditions of rural workers? How did artists like Israëls challenge the established norms of art by depicting these figures? Only through understanding its social and institutional context can we appreciate its full meaning.