Wolkenlucht boven een gebouw, mogelijk Nieuwe Teertuinen 33 c. 1898 - 1914

George Hendrik Breitner made this sketch of clouds over a building with graphite on paper. It feels like he was trying to capture something fleeting, a specific moment in the sky. You can see the quick, scribbled lines as he’s chasing after the clouds as they form and dissipate. There’s a beautiful contrast between the heavy, almost clumsy strokes that make up the building, and the lighter, more delicate marks used for the clouds. It’s like he’s using different kinds of touch to describe different kinds of things. I keep coming back to the cloud right at the top, where the lines are so scratchy and layered. The marks aren't blended, they feel raw and immediate. It reminds me of Constable’s cloud studies, or even some of Agnes Martin’s more abstract drawings. Like those artists, Breitner shows how art is less about depicting something perfectly and more about capturing a feeling, an impression of a particular time and place.