Annotaties 1895 - 1898

Curator: Annotaties, made between 1895 and 1898 by George Hendrik Breitner, is a work on paper that gives me the impression of a personal document. There’s an intimacy here, a sense of unfiltered thoughts. What strikes you about this piece? Editor: It feels like peering into the artist’s private world, a glimpse at their notes and thoughts jotted down in a hurry. I see handwriting, maybe addresses or sums of money, and I'm curious, what kind of social or political context might have been behind Breitner's notes? Curator: That's insightful! Think about Breitner's Amsterdam – a rapidly changing city grappling with industrialization and social stratification. Could these annotations be related to his artistic observations of the city, his notes on potential subjects or commentary on the economic realities of his time? What do you notice about the use of language? Editor: It’s a mix of what looks like Dutch and maybe some French, which makes me wonder about Breitner’s social circles and perhaps the languages of commerce or art at the time. Curator: Precisely! And what about the act of writing itself? In a period of burgeoning literacy but before widespread typewriters, handwriting carries a distinct class and social implication. Consider who had the privilege of such documentation. Could this also be Breitner engaging with ideas around artistic authenticity? Editor: I hadn’t thought about it that way! So, his choice of handwriting, the languages used, might all be deliberate, reflections of his position and observations. Curator: It pushes us to consider what these annotations meant to Breitner, not just as practical notes but as potential artistic statements, laden with cultural context. Editor: That’s a fascinating reframing. I went from seeing random notes to understanding the possibility of social commentary. Thanks! Curator: And I now wonder how his intersectional identities may have impacted his decision making with Annotaties. Thanks for the interesting discussion!