Paardentrams c. 1886 - 1923

This drawing of horse-drawn trams was made by George Hendrik Breitner, probably in Amsterdam, using pencil on a scrap of paper. The surface is alive with marks, almost frantic in their energy. You can feel Breitner thinking through the subject, the trams, the buildings, the whole urban landscape, as a layering of lines. I love that he left the compositional lines visible, cutting across the scene like the guidelines in a paint-by-numbers, only here they reveal the thinking behind the image. The texture of the paper adds another layer, those flecks and creases hinting at the impermanence of the everyday moment he’s trying to capture. It reminds me a little of Manet, the way he used quick, loose strokes to convey the hustle and bustle of modern life. There’s no attempt to hide the process, it’s all there on the surface, raw and immediate. Art isn’t about perfect representation but about a conversation, a dialogue between the artist, the subject, and the viewer.