DOI issue:
No. 166 (January, 1907)
DOI article:Halton, Ernest G.: The collection of Mr. Alexander Young, [4]: the modern dutch pictures
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.20716#0319
The Alexander Young Collection—IV. Modern Dutch Pictures
"on the marsh" by william maris
modem madonna is natural;
her expression thatof simple
womanly beauty. The
colour-scheme of rich
browns and yellows, and
the skilful arrangement of
light and shade, suggest
Rembrandt. The finest
example of Israels' laterwork
in the collection is the Ray
of Sunshine (p. 297), painted
in 1875, so delightful in the
quality of the colour and
depth of tone in the lumi-
nous shadows. Somewhat
looser in drawing but
equally attractive in its
beautiful tonality is The
Worker (p. 297), while the
fisher-folk solemnly making their way
from the beach. In the centre two
of them bear the body of a drowned
man, while at the head of this melan-
choly procession is a woman leading
by the hand two small children.
The wreck is seen in the distance, a
maimed and helpless hulk rocking
on the now peaceful waters. The
artist has treated the subject with
dignity and restraint, without striving
after theatrical effect. The figures
are full of expression, and each takes
its place in the picture with due re-
gard to composition and balance.
This large canvas (it is about 8 ft.
by 4 ft.) is without doubt one of
the noblest works Israels has pro-
duced, and it is to be hoped that
it may find its resting-place in some
public gallery, and not be again lost
to the public in the comparative
seclusion of a private collection.
That beautiful rendering of young
motherhood, The Cottage Madonna,
one of the most pleasing and popular
of Israels' works, was the first interior
of importance he executed, and
possesses, therefore, special interest
apart from its high artistic qualities.
A young woman, seated in a typical
Dutch room, is feeding a baby lying
across her knee. The pose of the "the fishwife" by josef Israels
299
"on the marsh" by william maris
modem madonna is natural;
her expression thatof simple
womanly beauty. The
colour-scheme of rich
browns and yellows, and
the skilful arrangement of
light and shade, suggest
Rembrandt. The finest
example of Israels' laterwork
in the collection is the Ray
of Sunshine (p. 297), painted
in 1875, so delightful in the
quality of the colour and
depth of tone in the lumi-
nous shadows. Somewhat
looser in drawing but
equally attractive in its
beautiful tonality is The
Worker (p. 297), while the
fisher-folk solemnly making their way
from the beach. In the centre two
of them bear the body of a drowned
man, while at the head of this melan-
choly procession is a woman leading
by the hand two small children.
The wreck is seen in the distance, a
maimed and helpless hulk rocking
on the now peaceful waters. The
artist has treated the subject with
dignity and restraint, without striving
after theatrical effect. The figures
are full of expression, and each takes
its place in the picture with due re-
gard to composition and balance.
This large canvas (it is about 8 ft.
by 4 ft.) is without doubt one of
the noblest works Israels has pro-
duced, and it is to be hoped that
it may find its resting-place in some
public gallery, and not be again lost
to the public in the comparative
seclusion of a private collection.
That beautiful rendering of young
motherhood, The Cottage Madonna,
one of the most pleasing and popular
of Israels' works, was the first interior
of importance he executed, and
possesses, therefore, special interest
apart from its high artistic qualities.
A young woman, seated in a typical
Dutch room, is feeding a baby lying
across her knee. The pose of the "the fishwife" by josef Israels
299