Pui c. 1886 - 1903

Curator: This is "Pui," a pencil drawing by George Hendrik Breitner, likely created between 1886 and 1903. The artwork resides here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: Immediately, I’m drawn to the simplicity. It's just lines, raw and almost urgent. Gives off this feeling of fleeting observation, doesn’t it? Curator: Absolutely. Breitner was known for capturing Amsterdam’s urban life, and here you see that impulse pared down to its essence. Note the use of pencil – a readily available, mass-produced material. This links to his focus on everyday scenes and his rejection of traditional, idealized artistic subjects. Editor: I see geometric forms struggling to emerge on this lined paper. It reminds me of jotting down a thought before it vanishes. There’s a beauty in its unfinished nature, like the memory of a building rather than the building itself. Curator: His method really emphasizes the act of seeing, framing, and documenting the rapid changes within the city’s architecture. He captured buildings and the geometry of industrial construction and buildings under transformation. The pencil becomes a tool for capturing information quickly, in the age of industrial expansion. Editor: So, less about the monumentality of the building and more about capturing the urban environment's shift. It’s also worth noting, how this work doesn’t conform to typical ‘high art’ expectations. No fancy oil paints or precious materials. Just humble graphite on lined paper. It grounds it. Curator: Precisely. Breitner challenged those boundaries, elevating sketches and studies as worthy subjects themselves, just as photography started doing. It also speaks to the growing availability of drawing supplies to more people. Editor: And you feel that democratizing impulse when looking at the lines. They lack self-importance; the drawing reads more like a visual note jotted to understand an evolving and industrious landscape. I like that thought. Curator: So, Breitner challenges assumptions about the artistic processes and emphasizes a more democratic outlook in a period when urban landscapes changed constantly, but materials that enabled capturing the landscape were easier to obtain. Editor: Yes. Now, I'm seeing "Pui" less as a quick sketch and more as a deliberate act, redefining the boundary between observation and art. Thanks!