Lot 2698

Isaac Lazarus Israels (1865-1924), an elegant young girl in a purple and lace dress in a dancing pose, oil on canvas, signed l.r. -82 x 57 cm- Provenance: Acquired by the grandfather of the present owners The Dutch impressionist Isaac Israels lived in London from 1913 until 1914. The crowded streets of London, the busy traffic, pedestrians strolling along the Thames, Rotten Row, where the fashionable upper class was seen riding, and ballet schools, offered Israëls bountiful material and inspiration. At the beginning of the twentieth century it was not unusual for well-to-do children to follow lessons in ‘fancy dancing‘, a combination of dance, deportment, and etiquette, as part of their education. Many youngsters also attended stage schools; these schools specialized in training their pupils for a stage career. Stage schools and ballet schools, especially after the London performances of Tamara Karsavina, Anna Pavlova, and the Diaghilev Ballets Russes, flourished. Which ballet school Isaac Israels actually visited in London was never documented, but judging from the technique that the young dancers display it was definitely a professional school. During his stay in London Israels resided in the Morley's Hotel situated at Trafalgar Square. Most of his paintings in the 1913-14 period are situations and subjects of inner London, thus it is more than likely that the ballet school he visited was located in the same area. Well known schools at that time were Stedmans’s Dance Academy, the Lila Field Academy, and the Espinosa School of Dancing. The present lot, most likely, represents a scene in one of the above mentioned ballet schools. Condition report: The canvas has been relined. Some minor craquelure is visible centrally in the canvas and there is a vertical area of approx. 20 by 5 cm left of the lower leg with craquelure. UV-inspection: Old and thick uneven varnish layer present. There is a vertical restored tear of 47 cm along the lower left edge. There is a retouched area with scattered retouches of circa 5 by 15 cm left of the foot near the lower edge. There is a heavily retouched area of approximately 10 by 25 cm to the lower right corner and edge. The signature appears to have been strengthened and retouched. The canvas has been relined and restored by J.J. Susijn, former paintings conservator-restorer of the Mauritshuis, the Krüller Müller, Museum Mesdag and Rijksmuseum Twente.