Landschap met een wolkenlucht 1906

This landscape with clouds was made by George Hendrik Breitner, probably in his studio, with a pencil or a piece of charcoal. It’s clear the artist is working quickly, trying to capture the essence of the clouds, or maybe it’s the trees that interest him most? I’m drawn to the contrast between the chaotic lines in the middle and the more ordered, vertical strokes on the left. It's like the artist is exploring different ways of seeing, or different ways of drawing. You can almost feel the pressure of the pencil on the paper, the way it digs in and then releases, it shows the process of mark making, exposed. This kind of raw, immediate drawing reminds me of Cy Twombly’s work, where the act of making is as important as the image itself. Both artists show us that art is an ongoing conversation, a way of thinking and feeling through marks and gestures.