Gezicht op boten aan het Damrak te Amsterdam c. 1906 - 1923

This unassuming pencil sketch of boats on the Damrak in Amsterdam was made by George Hendrik Breitner sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. I love the feeling of directness here, the scratchy, searching lines as Breitner tries to capture the scene before him. You can almost feel him squinting, quickly noting the essential forms and shapes. There's a real sense of energy, of something being jotted down in the moment. I imagine him standing there, sketchbook in hand, the sounds of the city all around him, trying to distill the chaos into a coherent image. It makes me think about how much seeing is about actively looking and feeling, how painting is not just about representing something but also about engaging with it, wrestling with it, trying to understand it. It's a reminder that art is as much about the process as it is about the final product.