The Jozef Israëls Monument is a bronze sculpture of 1916 made to honor

Jozef Israëls Jozef Israëls (; 27 January 1824 – 12 August 1911) was a Dutch Painting, painter. He was a leading member of the group of landscape painters referred to as the Hague School and was, during his lifetime, "the most respected Dutch artist of th ...

. The sculpture was created by

Abraham Hesselink Abraham Hesselink (July 19, 1862 to October 18, 1930) was a Dutch artist from Paterswolde in the Netherlands. His works were exhibited at the Salon (Paris) and the 1904 World’s Fair. He earned a gold medal at the 1904 World's Fair. Early life ...

and is displayed in Israëls's birthplace of

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

, in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the sculpture was destroyed by fascists and it was restored after the war. The restored sculpture was unveiled in 1946.

Analysis

The sculpture depicts a fisherman leaving the beach with two children; the man and the boy have fishing nets. The composition is based on that of Israëls's painting ''

Passing Mother's Grave ''Passing Mother's Grave'' (), also known as ''Passing the Churchyard'', is an oil painting on canvas made in 1856 by Jozef Israëls, a Dutch realist artist and a representative of the Hague School of painters. The subject of the painting is a ...

''. The painting is a portrayal of a widower walking past the grave of his wife, with his young children. The three people in the image are all barefoot. The man is a fisherman and he is holding a boy's hand and carrying a baby as he passes the

headstone A gravestone or tombstone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. A marker set at the head of the grave may be called a headstone. An especially old or elaborate stone slab may be called a funeral stele, stela, or slab. The u ...

of his deceased wife. The sculpture stands at a height of .

History

The sculpture was commissioned by Pictura, an association of art lovers in Groningen, and was executed by Abraham Hesselink. It is signed "A Hesselink / 1916". The sculpture was placed in Groningen to honor the artist Jozef Israëls, who was born there and who lived there into his teenage years. It was modeled on ''Passing Mother's Grave'' as that painting was Israëls's most prominent and recognized work, and was considered to be the artist's masterpiece. The sculpture was badly damaged during

. In 1943 it was destroyed by members of the

National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands The National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands (, ; NSB) was a Dutch fascist and later Nazi political organisation that eventually became a political party. As a parliamentary party participating in legislative elections, the NSB had some suc ...

(NSB), a fascist organization. The sculpture was destroyed because Israëls was Jewish. The director of the municipal cleaning service (Mr Koop) collected the debris after the destruction. After the war,

Willem Valk Willem () is a Dutch and West FrisianRienk de Haan, ''Fryske Foarnammen'', Leeuwarden, 2002 (Friese Pers Boekerij), , p. 158. masculine given name. The name is Germanic, and can be seen as the Dutch equivalent of the name William in English, ...

restored the sculpture. On 10 August 1946, the restored monument was unveiled by Mayor

Pieter Cort van der Linden Pieter Wilhelm Adrianus Cort van der Linden (14 May 1846 – 15 July 1935) was a Dutch politician who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from August 1913 to September 1918. Biography He was the last prime minister to lead a liberal ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Sculptures of children in the Netherlands Sculptures of men in Israel Monuments and memorials in the Netherlands Bronze sculptures in the Netherlands