Gezicht op een muur aan de Leidsegracht ter hoogte van de Prinsengracht c. 1914s

This is a page from George Hendrik Breitner’s sketchbook, showing a view on the Leidsegracht, done with pencil, of course, which is all about process. I love the way he’s captured a moment, not trying to hard to make it ‘real’. There’s a tension between observation and invention - like that scribbled hatching for the walls, it is real but it's also just a mark, you know? And the thinness of the pencil lines against the rough texture of the paper gives it a raw, immediate feel, like he was just trying to catch a thought before it disappeared. Look at the telegraph pole and how the artist has made it appear so solid with very few marks. I am not sure what the scribbled words mean - they seem like a cross between notes and annotations. It's all about how we see and remember. It reminds me of some of Philip Guston's late drawings – that same kind of searching, provisional quality. Art is an ongoing conversation and an exchange of ideas across time.