OTTERLO.- From April 24 through August 30, 2026, the Kröller-Müller Museum is presenting Isaac Israels’ Europe. The exhibition shows that Isaac Israels (1865–1934) painted much more than the portraits of women for which he became so well known. Travel remained a passion until his death, and this is clearly reflected in his art.

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Isaac Israels in Europe

By Benno Tempel

A richly illustrated art book exploring Isaac Israels’ travels, cosmopolitan vision, and lively depictions of modern European life.

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Nomad

Isaac was the son of the world-famous painter Jozef Israëls. In his parental home in The Hague, a constant stream of international visitors came and went. In this lively environment, the child prodigy Isaac developed his artistic and intellectual curiosity at an early age.

At the age of thirteen, Isaac Israels made his first tour of Europe. It was the beginning of a life as a nomad: always on the move and always at work. This led to a very large and versatile body of work, offering an impression of worldly, sophisticated life at the beginning of the twentieth century. In addition to short stays in Germany, Italy, Austria, Spain, Scandinavia, and Switzerland, Israels worked for extended periods in Paris and London, where he rented studios.

Together with George Hendrik Breitner and Vincent van Gogh, Isaac Israels is considered one of the most important Dutch artists of his generation.

Sources of inspiration

Art, literature, and travel shaped the life of Isaac Israels. Topics explored in the exhibition include Israels’ knowledge of European literature and the movement and migration of people across Europe during the turbulent first half of the twentieth century. He captured the impressions he gathered along the way at lightning speed in sketchbooks, later working them into lively paintings, watercolors, or pastels. Through his naturalistic way of painting, his palette changed in color and tone depending on the atmosphere of each destination.

On view in the exhibition

The exhibition features a selection of important loans from museums and private collections, including a large number of works that have never been shown before. Visitors can see paintings and a highly varied range of works on paper, including watercolors, pastels, chalk drawings, numerous sketchbooks, travel documents, and letters.





Win a cultural city trip

Isaac Israels’ Europe offers an opportunity to be inspired. Visitors to the exhibition can take part in a competition and win a cultural city trip to a favorite European city.

Drawing workshops

On ten Saturdays during the exhibition period, visitors can take part in a short drawing workshop for all ages, led by illustrators from the Huis van Betekenis. With their unique styles, they show how drawing can be a way to capture reality and connect with it. Each workshop has its own focus.

Registration for these workshops is not required. The drop-in workshops take place between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. and are free for visitors with a valid admission ticket for the park and museum.

Museum talks

Guides take visitors on a road trip through the exhibition. In 15-minute talks, they share more about the life, many travels, and work of Isaac Israels.

Visitors can join these free talks on one of the seventeen Sunday afternoons during the exhibition. These talks, held in Dutch, are also free for everyone with a valid admission ticket, and registration is not required.

Book

The exhibition is accompanied by the book Isaac Israels’ Europe, with texts by Renske Cohen Tervaert, Michael Wintle, Frouke van Dijke, and Julie van Loon. The book offers an engaging deeper look at the exhibition and is available here.