Annotaties c. 1906 - 1923

George Hendrik Breitner made this sketch with graphite on paper at an unknown date. The beauty of a sketch like this is its immediacy, it's all about process, a moment captured. Look how Breitner uses these light, searching marks to find the form, the overall impression of a figure. It's like he's feeling his way through the subject, mapping out the volumes with subtle shifts in pressure. See how the texture of the paper comes through, giving the drawing a delicate, almost ethereal quality. There's a real sense of movement, of the figure being caught in a fleeting moment. It reminds me of Degas, of course, who was interested in depicting dancers with this same sense of transience. Art is always a conversation, after all, each artist building on what came before, adding their own unique voice to the mix. Breitner's sketch is not about perfection, but about capturing the essence of a moment.