Gezicht in Amsterdam met schepen c. 1886 - 1903

George Hendrik Breitner made this charcoal drawing of Amsterdam harbor at an unknown date. The image is a jumble of indistinct shapes, only coming into focus when we recognize the masts and rigging of ships. Breitner was part of a generation of artists who broke away from the traditional art academy and its insistence on historical painting. Like the Impressionists in France, he was more interested in capturing scenes of everyday life. Photography also influenced him, as artists embraced the challenge of depicting modern life in all its sensory overload. In Breitner's case, he also depicted the darker sides of modern life in the city, and his approach could be called more realist than impressionist. To understand Breitner, we should consider the rise of Amsterdam as a modern, industrial capital, and also the shifting structures of the art world in the Netherlands as it became less reliant on official patronage. We might research the popular illustrated press to better understand the audience for images of modern life in Amsterdam.