Three girls are riding donkeys on the beach while a boy walks along behind. Isaac Israels (Amsterdam, February 3, 1865 - The Hague, October 7, 1934) painted this cheerful seaside scene around 1900 with a loose brushstroke and light, bright colours. The artist was one of the Amsterdam Impressionists. 'Donkey Riding' was part of the huge collection of nineteenth-century art amassed by the Drucker-Frasers of London. The couple bequeathed a large part of their collection to the Rijksmuseum.
The girls in the picture are the Pauw sisters and their friend. Obviously it was not Israels's intention to paint portraits of the girls: the faces are rendered with a few rough strokes of paint. Isaac Israels painted numerous works on this theme. At the time Israels painted these works he was living in Amsterdam. In the summer he would go to The Hague, where his father lived. There he would find lodgings in Scheveningen and paint his characteristic paintings. He was fascinated by the clear light of the sea front.
[Oil on canvas, 51 x 70 cm]
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