A donkey ride on the beach of Scheveningen

As the son of the renowned nestor of The Hague School, Jozef Israels, Isaac Israels had for many years been searching for his own style of painting before discovering it around 1890: he would be remembered as the Dutch impressionist who was equal to most of his French contemporaries. While his father Jozef had been gaining popularity as a painter of the difficult and insecure existence of fishermen and their families, Isaac was inspired by the fashionable life of the boulevards and beaches in Scheveningen. Towards the end of the 19th century the small fishing village of Scheveningen, near The Hague, had developed into a sophisticated beach resort which was popular with the Dutch elite. During the summer months, from 1895 onwards, Isaac would sketch and paint outdoors at the seaside resort with his father and the well-known German painter Max Liebermann (1847-1935). The three of them usually stayed in a villa that belonged to the Oranjehotel, which was placed at Jozef Israels' disposal by one of his admirers.

Isaac portrayed female bathers and had models pose for him, but his favourite theme (and that of his clients) was the colourful, lively depiction of elegantly dressed girls on donkey-rides accompanied by a young donkey driver. A number of variations on this theme are known; the girls are always seated askew on the donkey, dressed in attractive white or pastel-coloured summer dresses, wearing straw hats or ribbons in their hair. In most cases, the donkey driver follows barefooted behind the donkeys dressed in a blue tunic with a cap on his head and a stick or whip in one of his hands. Thirty-five of the almost hundred paintings he made in Scheveningen have these adorable animals and their riders as their main theme. Most of them were made between 1895 and 1902. These works by Israels are some his most sought after subjects.

Donkey riding on the beach of Scheveningen has a long tradition, starting around 1860, or even before. Other animals were also used to divert the children. Mules, ponies and horses were also waiting near the Pier for a ride. In the 1920's, even ostriches were used, pulling the children along the beach in a little cart.

The best-known example of this subject can be found in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (A3597).
The present lot is a hitherto unknown work by Isaac and can be distinguished from the other known donkey ride paintings by its remarkable size. It is painted with a fluent and lively brushstroke and can be viewed as an exceptional example of this theme.