Military funeral

In 1882 Isaac Israëls made his debut at the Paris Salon with a large work entitled Military funeral. Its style was very different from that of his father, Jozef Israëls. Despite the sad subject, the painting is by no means sentimental; it is a cool study of the plain burial accorded to an ordinary soldier who, far from perishing gloriously on the battlefield, had fallen ill in barracks and died a natural – if premature – death. Isaac’s graphic talent is obvious; the figures in this painting, unlike his father’s, are drawn clearly with well-defined outlines. Although the use of colour is tonal rather than exuberant, resembling that in Hague School paintings, nobody would ever confuse this painting with one by Jozef Israëls . Fairly unusually for a debutant work at the Salon, the critics’ response was enthusiastic.

Source: J. Sillevis (ed.), Jozef en Isaac Israëls, vader & zoon, Den Haag, Zwolle 2008.