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.