Bordes van een huis aan het Haarlemmerplein te Amsterdam 1886 - 1908

This charcoal sketch of houses on Haarlemmerplein in Amsterdam was created by George Hendrik Breitner. Breitner lived and worked in Amsterdam during a period of rapid urbanization and social change, and positioned himself as the “people’s painter”. There’s an immediacy to this sketch. It gives us insight into Breitner’s process, his observations and emotional responses to the world around him. Breitner was interested in capturing the everyday life of the city, its energy, its grit, and the lives of its inhabitants. He aimed to represent modern life in a way that was honest and unvarnished, rather than idealizing it. Breitner wrote, "Not a painter but a 'Volksphotograph.'" Though he was of course, a painter, the quote points to how he saw himself as a chronicler of the city. It is a compelling record of a specific time and place, inviting reflection on urban change, memory, and the search for meaning in everyday life.