Nieuwe Kerk te Amsterdam, gezien vanaf de Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal c. 1900 - 1923

George Hendrik Breitner made this sketch of Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam from the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal, and it’s like he’s thinking out loud with his pencil. You can see the energy of the city in these quick marks. Look at how he's mapped out the buildings and boats with these sparse, confident lines. It's not about perfection, but about capturing a fleeting moment. The texture of the paper itself becomes part of the piece, adding to that sense of immediacy. Breitner isn't trying to hide the process; he's inviting us to see how a scene gets translated from reality to art. The little under drawings, and the marks in the bottom corners of the pages are evidence of this. It reminds me of some of Cy Twombly’s sketches – that same sense of playful exploration, of not being afraid to leave things unfinished. It’s like art is a conversation, not a lecture.