Gezicht op een gebouw, mogelijk te Amsterdam c. 1886 - 1903

This is a sketch, possibly of a building in Amsterdam, made by George Hendrik Breitner. Immediately, one notices the angularity of the composition, achieved with jagged lines and sharp edges of the charcoal. The sketch evokes a sense of provisionality, like an incomplete thought or a fleeting impression captured swiftly. Breitner's use of line is particularly striking. Energetic and restless strokes don’t delineate form; they seem to construct it, almost as if the building were emerging from the page. The interplay between the heavy shading of the facade and the delicate lines create a push-and-pull effect, challenging the viewer’s perception and unsettling any fixed interpretation. Ultimately, this sketch serves as an invitation to consider the unstable nature of representation itself. Breitner prompts us to see beyond the literal depiction of a building, and to recognise art as a field of endless possibilities.