Studieblad met arbeiders en een vrouwenhoofd 1880 - 1923

This is a study in graphite by George Hendrik Breitner. What grabs me is the economy of line. Breitner isn't fussing over details. Instead, he's feeling his way into these figures, letting the pencil sketch out the bare minimum. Look at the way he defines the figures. They’re not precise portraits, but rather suggestions of form. You can almost feel the artist circling his subject, trying to capture a sense of movement, a fleeting moment. The textures are minimal, just some smudging and hatching that hint at light and shadow. Then there is the woman's head, worked with more solid shading and a greater range of tones. It reminds me of Degas. There is a similar interest in ordinary urban life, and a commitment to the immediacy of the sketch. But where Degas is all about capturing the grace of the ballerina, Breitner seems drawn to the everyday toil of the worker. It is not just a drawing, it is a record of seeing and feeling.