Portrait of a Wounded KNIL soldier
After joining the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) in the former slave fortress of Elmina, Ghana, this man was called Kees Pop. His own name is unknown, but his parents were known as Kwamena and Ekoerva. ‘Pop’ served twelve years and fought in the Aceh War in Indonesia. Israëls painted him – with medals – while he was on sick leave in the Netherlands shortly before he returned to Africa.
Isaac Israels