Staande figuren 1910

George Hendrik Breitner made this drawing, Staande figuren, with graphite on paper. I can just imagine Breitner there, quickly sketching these figures, trying to catch a sense of their presence, their weight. The lines are scratchy, searching. There's a real energy here, like the artist is trying to pin down something fleeting. See how he uses these quick, jagged lines to suggest the forms of the figures, but never quite defining them? It's like he's more interested in the feeling of the scene than in perfect representation. The paper itself becomes part of the image. It reminds me of other artists who use drawing as a way of thinking, like Cy Twombly. Each gesture can communicate feeling. The artist embraces ambiguity. It allows for multiple interpretations. The artist's hand, his intention, lives on through these marks.