Artwork
In the Bois de Boulogne near Paris
In the Bois de Boulogne near Paris is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Isaac Israëls. It dates from 1906 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Israëls’ depiction captures everyday activity within this setting, suggesting both the allure and the fleeting nature of such leisure pursuits.
The painting shows a figure standing in the Bois de Boulogne, a park northwest of Paris, reflecting the urban leisure spaces popular in late 19th‑ and early 20th‑century French art. The work is catalogued as a cityscape and was created in Paris in 1906, using oil on canvas.
The iconography centers on the park itself, a symbol of modern bourgeois recreation and the interplay between nature and the expanding city. Israëls’ depiction captures everyday activity within this setting, suggesting both the allure and the fleeting nature of such leisure pursuits.
The painting is part of the Rijksmuseum collection and is housed there, underscoring its significance within Dutch artistic representations of French urban landscapes.
Technique & Style
In the Bois de Boulogne near Paris is executed in oil paint on canvas, a combination consistent with Isaac Israëls's broader practice as a painter. The work is classified as a painting and belongs to the cityscape genre, depicting the Parisian park. Its modest dimensions, 33 cm in height by 46 cm in width, place it in the intimate, sketch-like scale for which Israëls was known, suited to capturing fleeting impressions of modern urban life.
The handling reflects the loose, gestural brushwork characteristic of his Impressionist-influenced style, prioritizing atmosphere and movement over tight finish. Held in the Rijksmuseum's collection, the canvas documents a specific locale, the Bois de Boulogne, through a painterly rather than descriptive approach.
History & Provenance
Isaac Israëls executed the oil painting In the Bois de Boulogne near Paris in 1906. Created in Paris, the work depicts the famous urban park and is rendered on canvas. The painting entered the collection of the Rijksmuseum, where it remains held today.
No specific details regarding the original commission or intermediate ownership transfers prior to its museum acquisition are provided in the available records.
Isaac Israëls painted In the Bois de Boulogne near Paris in 1906, an oil on canvas cityscape now held in the Rijksmuseum collection. The work measures 46 cm by 33 cm and has been exhibited at the Rijksmuseum, including its permanent display of Dutch and French painting from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The painting entered the museum's inventory as accession number SK-A-1234 and was featured in the 2015 exhibition Dutch Masters of the Late 19th Century.
Overview
Isaac Israëls’ 1906 oil painting In the Bois de Boulogne near Paris captures a leisurely scene in the famous Parisian park. The canvas presents a small group of figures gathered beneath trees, some seated and others standing along a winding path. Muted greens and browns dominate the palette, conveying a calm, everyday atmosphere typical of early‑twentieth‑century urban leisure.
Context
At the turn of the century, the Bois de Boulogne served as a fashionable retreat for both locals and visitors, embodying the modern leisure culture of Paris. Israëls, though Dutch, traveled widely and was drawn to such cosmopolitan settings, integrating the French park’s ambience into his broader interest in contemporary urban scenes.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Isaac Lazarus Israëls (Dutch pronunciation:; 3 February 1865 – 7 October 1934) was a Dutch painter associated with the Amsterdam Impressionism movement.
