Anyone who says museums are boring has this not yet seen. In a compact but powerful exhibition, an extraordinary story unfolds. Israëls used icons by Vincent - Sunflowers, The Bedroom, The Yellow House - as backgrounds in his own work between 1915 and 1920. He even called it "vincenten": "I am still very much vincenten."
Ten of these "vintages" - borrowed from Dutch museums and private collections - are brought together in room two, along with a uniquely drawn study sheet in which Van Gogh's paintings subtly figure. Next to these works shines Israel's portrait of Jo, restored especially for this occasion, in which her layered personality emerges more clearly than ever after restoration.
The Van Gogh Museum links visual art to the power of language: there are over a hundred letters from Israel to Jo, full of humor, reflection and artistic wonder. From the opening, this correspondence can be read digitally at israelsletters.org, created in collaboration with the Huygens Institute - a wonderful follow-up to the earlier publication of the Vincent letters. Senior researcher Hans Luijten - known for his groundbreaking work on Jo - summarizes: "Israel writes candidly and with verve about art, literature, love and friendship."
"I'm still very much Vincentian." - Isaac Israëls in letter to Jo, 1916
But this is no stuffy tribute. The exhibition gives warmth as well as visibility to Jo, the woman who gave Vincent world fame. In 2024 her biography All for Vincent, and now she herself gets the stage again, thanks to Israel's portraits and lively correspondence.