Gezicht op het Spui te Amsterdam 1907

This is a drawing, probably from a sketchbook, by George Hendrik Breitner, showing a view of the Spui in Amsterdam. On the left page, the marks are bold and insistent, but the forms are still open, unresolved. It's like the artist is thinking through the act of drawing itself, a real-time exploration of seeing and representing. Look at the way the artist uses the pencil, sometimes scratching lightly, other times pressing down hard to create dark, decisive lines. The windows on the left are sharply defined, yet on the right page, they dissolve into ghostly impressions. This contrast captures the fleeting, transient nature of perception itself. It makes me think of Philip Guston's late work, raw, honest, and unafraid to show the messy, imperfect process of making art. There’s an energy in its incompleteness, an invitation for us to participate in the act of seeing, questioning, and interpreting. It's a reminder that art is not about perfect representation, but about the journey of exploration and discovery.