Gezicht op schepen bij de Haarlemmerpoort te Amsterdam c. 1906 - 1923

George Hendrik Breitner made this drawing of ships near the Haarlemmerpoort in Amsterdam with pencil. It’s amazing to see how a drawing can be so complete with so few lines. Look how the bold, decisive strokes on the right page create a sense of depth and form, almost like a sculptural relief emerging from the paper. The sketchiness gives a sense of immediacy, capturing a fleeting moment. It's like a visual shorthand, a way of quickly translating what the eye sees into a tangible form. And then, on the left, those ghostly figures emerging from the background, barely there but adding a whole other layer of intrigue. It's like Breitner is having a conversation with artists such as Manet or Degas, who were similarly interested in depicting scenes of modern life, but with a distinctly Dutch accent. Like them, this work embraces the beauty of imperfection, the idea that art doesn't always have to be polished or refined to be meaningful.