Gezicht op een straat met figuren, mogelijk in Amsterdam c. 1903

George Hendrik Breitner made this drawing of a street scene, possibly in Amsterdam, with graphite on paper. The marks are so tentative, almost like he was thinking aloud with his pencil. You can feel the artist trying to capture a fleeting moment, a quick impression of the city. The texture of the paper is almost as important as the lines themselves, giving the drawing a sense of immediacy. It’s like a visual shorthand, a way of jotting down an idea before it disappears. Notice the figure on the right page; it's just a few lines, but you get the sense of a person in motion, caught in the hustle of city life. Breitner reminds me of Degas, both artists were masters of capturing the everyday, the mundane, and turning it into something beautiful and profound. This piece shows us that art doesn't always have to be about grand statements. Sometimes, it's about the small, quiet moments that make up our lives.