Gezicht in Amsterdam, mogelijk de hoek van de Lijnbaansgracht en de Rozengracht c. 1902 - 1914

This is George Hendrik Breitner's, 'View in Amsterdam, possibly the corner of the Lijnbaansgracht and the Rozengracht', it's an undated graphite on paper sketch. Breitner is working out what he's seeing right in front of him in this open book. The graphite is all about finding the forms quickly, a flurry of marks scratching to find the edges of the buildings, and then a more fluid line for the tree to the right. It’s not so much about detail as it is about capturing a feeling, a moment, of being in a specific place. Look at how the lines describing the building, it’s like he’s trying to trap the building on the page. It makes me think of Morandi's drawings, where he's searching for the essence of the object, not just its appearance. Both artists remind us that art is really just an ongoing conversation, a kind of sketching out of ideas across time, never fixed.