# Children of the Sea

- By: Jozef Israëls (Groningen (stad), 1824–1911)
- Date: 1872
- Medium: canvas, oil paint (paint)
- Classification: painting
- Dimensions: height 48.5 cm x width 93.5 cm x height 49 cm x width 91 cm
- Credit line: J.B.A.M. Westerwoudt Bequest, Haarlem
- Museum: [Rijksmuseum](https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/object/SK-A-2382--98cc90bcb55dfc39dda04341bc8414c1)
- Rights: [Public Domain Mark](http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/)
- Picture: https://iiif.micr.io/nnjuR/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

This charming scene contains a message. The children of a fisherman, with their tattered rags and paltry toys, offer us a glimpse of their future. The eldest boy carries the weight of the family on his shoulders, and the little boat stands for the rigours of life at sea. Jozef Israëls first painted this subject in 1863. It became enormously popular and the artist subsequently repeated it often.