Figuurstudies c. 1886 - 1923

This is "Figuurstudies," figure studies, by George Hendrik Breitner, a drawing made with a soft, smudgy implement on paper. Looking at these marks, they are tentative, searching. There’s a beautiful economy in the way Breitner uses line – not to define, but to suggest form, weight, and even mood. You can almost feel the artist circling around the subject, trying to capture something elusive, something fleeting. I wonder what the relationship is between that main figure and that floating face to the right? The paper is raw, stained, it has a life of its own. It reminds me of a Cy Twombly drawing, though maybe less self-assured. There's an honesty here, a willingness to let the process be visible. It’s not about perfection, but about the messy, beautiful act of trying to see. And in that act of seeing, we glimpse something true about ourselves.