Dancing girl

The Hague is where Isaac Israels worked most during the 1920's, although he traveled quite extensively through Indonesia, Switzerland, Italy and the South of France during these years. He considered The Netherlands an excellent place to work because: 'nothing ever happens here and there is no distraction like in Paris' (Anna Wagner, Isaac Israels, Rotterdam 1967, p.49). The dancing girl in the present lot, executed circa 1, may have been painted on one of the many occasions that Israels visited the Scala theatre in the Wagenstraat in The Hague, where he had permission to work. Always interested in the world of theatre and its glitter and glamour, he would sit in one of the small dressing rooms and could finish several canvasses in one evening. He was also fond of painting backstage, creating studies of Josephine Baker (who never wanted to pose) or in the lobby, painting the audience. As a young man in Amsterdam he had enjoyed finding his subjects at the theatre and as an old man he continued to do so: Israels never tired of the Scala. He would occasionally invite performers to pose for him on stage the morning after a show, working seriously and continuously for hours on end. Israels retained his engagement with modern society up to the last years of his life, always expressing the magic of light and colour.

We wish to thank Mr J. van Roosmalen for kindly confirming the authenticity of the present lot after firsthand examination.