Gevel 1896 - 1897

This sketch of a facade was made by George Hendrik Breitner, a Dutch artist active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Breitner is known for his raw and unidealized depictions of urban life in Amsterdam. During Breitner’s time, Amsterdam was undergoing rapid urbanization and industrialization, which dramatically changed the city’s social and physical landscape. Working-class neighborhoods were densely populated, and the city's infrastructure struggled to keep up with the influx of people. Breitner, rejecting the romanticized views of city life, chose to portray the everyday experiences of ordinary people. His paintings and sketches often focus on the working class and their living conditions. This sketch, with its rough lines, may reflect a desire to capture the unvarnished reality of urban architecture, mirroring the lives of the people within these buildings. The sketch becomes an intimate reflection on the human condition within a rapidly changing urban environment.