Gezicht op de Kalverstraat in Amsterdam ter hoogte van warenhuis Gerzon c. 1892 - 1923

George Hendrik Breitner made this watercolour and pencil sketch, "Gezicht op de Kalverstraat in Amsterdam ter hoogte van warenhuis Gerzon", sometime in his life. It's like looking at a map of thoughts, isn't it? Breitner's marks dive right into the paper. See how the blues and browns mix, creating shadows? There’s a real sense of wetness to it, the colours bleeding into each other like memories blurring at the edges. The whole piece feels like a fleeting moment, captured quickly, almost as if he's trying to catch the city's pulse. Look at the scribbled lines on the left. Are they buildings, figures, or just the energy of the street turned into marks? It doesn't really matter, does it? What matters is how it makes you feel. It reminds me of Cy Twombly, how he could turn the simplest line into a whole world of feeling. Art isn't about answers, it’s about the questions it stirs in us.