Gezicht op de Begijnhofsteeg te Amsterdam ter hoogte van het Spui c. 1900 - 1923

This is George Hendrik Breitner’s sketch of the Begijnhofsteeg in Amsterdam, and it feels like a real moment. It's all in pencil, quick and light. Look at the way he captures the buildings, not with hard lines, but with these almost hesitant strokes. It's like he's feeling his way around the shapes, trying to nail down the light and shadow. See how the lines are darker where the buildings overlap, giving them depth? And then there are those figures in the street, just a few quick marks, but they totally bring the scene to life. The texture of the paper adds so much too – you can almost feel the grain. Breitner was a contemporary of Van Gogh, and you can see a similar interest in capturing everyday life, but with a much lighter touch. It’s a real study in how much you can say with just a few simple marks.