Gezicht op gebouwen, mogelijk op de Dam te Amsterdam c. 1914s

This sketch of buildings, possibly on the Dam Square in Amsterdam, was made by George Hendrik Breitner. It's done with graphite, and you can see how he's working through the shapes, letting the lines pile up on each other, trying to capture the weight of these buildings. I love how immediate the marks are, almost like he's thinking with the pencil in his hand. The paper peeks through the graphite, giving it a real sense of light and air. The texture is so present, you can almost feel the grain of the paper and the soft drag of the pencil. Look at the lower part of the drawing, how the strokes become more concentrated and angular. Breitner was known for his paintings of Amsterdam city life, and this feels like a raw, unfiltered glimpse into his process. It reminds me a bit of some of Philip Guston's late drawings, where the awkwardness and the searching are all part of the beauty. It’s not about perfection; it's about the energy of seeing and feeling.