Artist. This Dutch Jew was among the first painters to free his palette from the influence of the dark studio and to execute his sketches in the open air. He was also among the first to capture the spirit of the common people, the humble fishermen in little villages and to paint them at work and at leisure, in happiness and grief. Israels painted many Jewish subjects; notable among them is A Son of the Old People, a sad old clothes dealer sitting before his modest shop, and The Old Scribe, based on a sketch he made while traveling through Tangier, North Africa.