Aangespannen paard 1912 - 1919

George Hendrik Breitner made this drawing of a harnessed horse on paper, and it's now here at the Rijksmuseum. It's all about the immediacy, isn't it? I love the tentative, searching quality of the lines. You can almost see Breitner thinking as he draws, trying to capture the essence of the horse's form with the fewest possible marks. Notice how the texture of the paper peeks through, creating a subtle, almost ghostly effect. The pencil lines are so direct and confident in places, and then fade into almost nothing. It reminds me of some of Degas' drawings, where he's just feeling his way around the subject, trying to understand it from the inside out. I think, as artists, it's more about the process than the final product. It's about that moment of connection, when you're really seeing something for the first time. And I think Breitner captured that feeling perfectly here.