Paardenbeen c. 1886 - 1923

This is Paardenbeen, or Horse Leg, drawn by George Hendrik Breitner using graphite on paper. The marks are tentative, the artist searching for the form. I can feel Breitner thinking through his looking, not knowing what exactly he is trying to capture, only that he must. The thing that grabs me is how, with just a few lines, he gets the heft and weight of this big animal. Look closely at the hatching, the tiny strokes that build up the shadow. See how some areas are densely packed, almost black, while others are just a whisper of graphite? It’s like he’s sculpting the form with light and shadow. It’s not about perfect representation, but more about feeling the mass of the leg, the way it connects to the ground. This reminds me of Degas and his drawings of dancers. Like Degas, Breitner seems interested in how line and tone can create an illusion of movement and volume. It's a conversation between artists across time, each grappling with similar questions about how to see and represent the world around them.