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When One Grows Old | |
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Dutch: Als men oud wordt | |
Artist | Jozef Israëls |
Year | 1883 |
Medium | Oil-on-canvas |
Movement | Realism (arts) |
Dimensions | 160 cm (63 in) x 101 cm (40 in)[1] |
Location | Kunstmuseum Den Haag, The Hague |
Website | When One Grows Old |
When One Grows Old is an oil on canvas painting by Dutch artist Jozef Israëls, from 1883. It depicts an old woman warming herself by a fireplace. The painting is housed at the Kunstmuseum Den Haag and it is on loan from Erven van Hijmans van Wadenoyen.[1]
In 1871 Jozef Israëls moved to The Hague. In 1881 he completed the painting When One Grows Old.[2] In Dutch, the painting is known as Als men oud wordt.[3]
The painting is of an old peasant woman who is warming herself by a fireplace. The painting depicts a contemplative stillness.[2] The old woman is hunched over with her back bent and her hands stretched out toward the fireplace.[4]
In the book Jozef Israëls author John Ernest Phythian states that the painting sums up Israëls techniques as a painter. His image of the woman (as with his other peasant subjects) is a portrayal of a peasant who is not at work.[2]