A portrait of a seated Javanese beauty

Israels 'Indonesian' pictures can be more or less divided into two different periods. The first comprises the pictures with an Indonesian theme painted in The Hague and the second, Indonesian subjects painted in the Dutch Indies. In December 1921 he would travel to Java and Bali for the first time, and he would stay there for ten months. The most striking difference between the two 'Indonesian' periods is the rendering of light and colour. In his Hague period - when the present lot was painted - light was more subdued and colours tended more toward The Hague School-tones like grey, green and brown. In the Dutch Indies Israels preferred his subject to be outside in broad daylight, which is reflected in his pictures. The present lot can be dated circa 1915-1916. During these years, he portrayed many Javanese living in The Hague, as well as Indonesian students (among them his friend, the law student Sosro Kartono). They posed in his studio or on his balcony at home. To give the pictures a true Indonesian feel, Israels borrowed attributes like Oriental clothing, daggers, jewelry and wayang dolls. He even obtained palm trees from the zoo across the street.