Jozef Israëls

The best-known 19th-century Dutch painter of scenes of peasant life, Israëls was born at Groningen and trained first with Jan Adam Kruseman and then at the Amsterdam Academy under Jan Willem Pieneman. He also received training at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, returning to Holland in 1847.

His earliest works were romantic historical paintings, but after staying at Zandvoort in 1855 he concentrated on peasant scenes - usually with fishermen - which recall works by his contemporaries in France, especially Millet and Daumier. In his later years Israëls lived in The Hague and became internationally famous, exhibiting in Paris and London as well as in Holland.