Rokin en de Oude Turfmarkt te Amsterdam, gezien vanuit De l'Europe 1912 - 1919

George Hendrik Breitner made this sketch of Rokin en de Oude Turfmarkt in Amsterdam from the De l'Europe hotel using what looks like charcoal, and maybe graphite, in a sketchbook. The directness of the medium really puts the emphasis on the process of making. Look at the varying weight of the lines, some confident and bold, others tentative, like the ghost of buildings on the right hand page. I like the feeling of the artist quickly capturing the essence of the scene before him. I think of Philip Guston's late, diaristic drawings; there's a similar sense of urgency, of making marks that describe not just what something looks like, but how it feels to see it. The smudges and erasures add to the dynamism, a conversation between the artist and the paper. It’s not so much about a perfect rendering of Amsterdam as it is about the act of looking, thinking, and responding. You get a sense of the city, but also of the artist’s mind at work.