A vegetable seller on the Brouwersgracht, Amsterdam

The location of the present lot can be precisely located as the bridge over the Brouwersgracht at the beginning of the Herengracht and the Herenmarkt. This spot, orientated West direction Keizersgracht, inspired Israels to make several paintings. It is a typical example of the artist's Amsterdam period and shows his renewed and impressionistic style in which the depiction of daily life along the canals played the most important role. He executed this work in the 1890's, when he already had found his own style and had an established reputation. He made sketches 'en plein air' (fig. 1) and used his own photographs, which he made with the camera, as a reference for this picture. This becomes visible in the photographic character of the present lot with the sudden cutting along the edges and the quick movement of the vegetable seller and his cart.

We kindly thank Mr. Bert Gerlagh of the Stadsarchief Amsterdam for his help in cataloguing this lot.