Koetsier op de bok 1882

Curator: Right now, we're looking at George Hendrik Breitner's pencil drawing, "Koetsier op de bok," from 1882. It's held here at the Rijksmuseum. And what do you think? Editor: There's an immediate energy, almost feverish, in those rapid, looping lines. It's a fleeting impression rather than a careful study, wouldn't you agree? Curator: Exactly! Breitner was all about capturing the immediacy of urban life, the hustle, the grit. You can almost feel the carriage rumbling on the cobblestones. It is less about the high art, and more a testament to the labour within 19th century Dutch urban life, wouldn't you say? The perspective here shows the subject from a very intimate distance. Editor: The swift, economical use of pencil seems like it's driven by the demands of modern urban life that you're referring to—capturing something as it hurtles past. How was this kind of drawing traditionally perceived in contrast to painting at that time? Curator: Drawings, like this, often existed as preparatory works or private studies. But with Breitner, there's a sense that the sketch itself becomes the artwork. He embraced the ephemeral, the unfinished. In the sweep of his marks and in his interest to use different material to convey such daily moment...It feels almost rebellious. He shows an interest in ordinary life rather than academic subject matter and the relationship between pencil and paper itself. Editor: The repetition of the horse's head is interesting. Almost like a film reel capturing the motion of the animal in short progression. I’m interested in the means of its production: the use of widely accessible, inexpensive materials speaks to a shift towards democratization, don’t you think? And the subject—the Koetsier himself— is very interesting because the Koetsier seems to be a representation of Dutch society itself. Curator: Absolutely! It brings us back to a discussion around accessibility and who gets to be represented, doesn't it? I always love getting a sense of his rapid capture of everyday scenes. What I enjoy, then, is to contemplate the social structure between man, animal and machine represented in that piece of paper...It truly moves the art somewhere new. Editor: So here we have not just a quick sketch, but a subtle document, almost a pre-photographic snapshot of labour in motion, of lives in transit.