Alone in the World (1881 painting)

Alone in the World
Artist	Jozef Israëls
Year	c. 1880-1881
Medium	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	125 cm × 200 cm (49 in × 79 in)
Location	Mesdag Collection, The Hague

Alone in the World is an oil-on-canvas painting by Dutch artist Jozef Israëls, from c. 1880-1881.[1] Its subject is isolation and death. The painting was exhibited at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago Illinois. It is held at the Mesdag Collection, in The Hague.[2][3]

Description

The painting has been called strong, beautiful and realistic. The scene is a portrayal of death and poverty. The broken-hearted man, and the face of the dead woman in the dull light of the room portray isolation and death. The image shows a man, wearing an overcoat, sitting on a chair by a bed. A woman is lying in the bed and the man is facing away from her. The man has a stern expression and woman appears to be ill.[4]

Reception

French critic Louis Edmond Duranty said of the painting, "dombre et de douleur" or shadow and pain.[5] H.C. Payne said of the scene in the painting, "...a scene, so entirely subordinate to its human meaning, and this is so profound and so clearly felt, that we do not think of the painting at all".[2]

References

1. Dutch art : an encyclopedia. New York: Garland Pub. 1997. ISBN 9781135495817.
2. The Inland Architect and News Record. Chicago Illinois: University of Chicago. 1893. p. 4. Archived from the original on 3 March 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
3. The Mesdag Collection
4. The Illustrated American. Irvine, California: the University of California. 1894. p. 102. Archived from the original on 3 March 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
5. Marius, Gerarda Hermina (1908). Dutch Painting in the Nineteenth Century. Madrid Spain: The Complutense University of Madrid. p. 33. Archived from the original on 3 March 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.