Kar en een werkende man c. 1892 - 1923

Editor: This is George Hendrik Breitner's "Kar en een werkende man," or "Cart and a Working Man," likely created sometime between 1892 and 1923. It’s a graphite drawing. I find it quite skeletal; a kind of stark representation of labour. What's your take? Curator: Stark, yes, I think so too, in its brutal honesty. You know, Breitner had such an eye for the pulse of the city, the everyday grind. It's funny, isn't it? The drawing is so economical, almost dismissive. He captures the cart and its driver but you can see his sympathy. Editor: Sympathy? That's interesting; I see more…detachment maybe? Curator: Detachment can be another mask for empathy, don't you think? Especially for someone like Breitner, wrestling with his own demons. He’s observing a scene of intense labour that must have reflected some aspect of his internal landscape at the time, too, in terms of the mental labour of an artist, for instance. What do you reckon he felt when sketching? Editor: Hmm. I never considered the inner struggle bleeding onto the page like that. Perhaps you're right; maybe that spareness ISN'T distance, but a kind of hushed reverence for the working man. Curator: Or perhaps the artist feels trapped inside an unforgiving wheel?   Editor: It all makes sense now, thanks! I have gained much better understanding of this artwork! Curator: Likewise. Looking through your fresh perspective helped reveal nuances that were a little dormant in me. Thanks to you too!