Schetsboek met 42 bladen 1881 - 1883

This sketchbook with 42 pages was made by George Hendrik Breitner, who lived from 1857 to 1923. Breitner was a Dutch painter and photographer known for his gritty depictions of urban life in Amsterdam during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As a contemporary of Vincent van Gogh, Breitner captured the energy of a rapidly changing society through a realist lens. "I am not a painter in the boudoir," he famously declared, "I have to be on the street." His sketchbooks offer an intimate glimpse into his artistic process and the social realities he encountered. Consider the weight of this object, handled by an artist navigating the complexities of class, industrialization, and shifting social norms. What stories might these pages tell about Breitner's encounters with the world, and how do they reflect the broader narratives of identity and representation in his time?