Gertie in a fur coat

The present lot shows one of Isaac Israels favourite models Gertie Wehmann (1895-1975), posing with a fur coat. Like her twin sister Ippy (1895-1964) she modeled for the famous Amsterdam fashion house Hirsch in the period between 1916 and 1918. In these years Israels painted Ippy and Gertie various times. With fluid, dynamic brushstrokes Israels depicted Gertie as she glazes along the viewer’s eye point. Hirsch opened at the Leidseplein in 1881 and was one of the leading fashion establishments by the turn of the century. Via his connections here, Israels was then introduced to Parisian fashion houses such as Drécoll on the Place de l'Opéra and Paquin in the Rue de la Paix several years later when he moved to the French capital in 1904. After Israels returned from Paris he would frequently visit Hirsch to visit his beloved models.