De Teertuinen c. 1905

Curator: Before us is "De Teertuinen", or "The Tar Gardens," a drawing made around 1905 by George Hendrik Breitner, currently held at the Rijksmuseum. It’s rendered in ink on paper, a study of an Amsterdam cityscape. Editor: The first word that springs to mind? Ethereal. There's a delicacy to those lines, a lightness that almost floats off the page despite the industrial subject matter. It's like capturing a fleeting moment in a dream. Curator: Indeed, and I find that tension fascinating. The Teertuinen, known for its tar processing facilities, becomes almost poetic through Breitner’s use of the ink medium. This industrial site, usually associated with the gritty realities of labour and production, is rendered with an economy of line that speaks more to the atmospheric conditions, the transient light, and the immediate environment. We see here a dance between documenting a working landscape and finding aesthetic merit within the commonplace. Editor: It’s incredible how few lines he uses, almost like he's daring us to see something profound in the mundane. There's a certain bravery to presenting this, seemingly unfinished. It forces me to actively participate, to fill in the blanks, adding my own imagination to his sketched reality. And frankly, it reminds me a little of some quick snapshots I took around the neighborhood last week, but of course I digress. Curator: Precisely! Breitner was very attuned to social shifts. This piece really underscores the accessibility of drawing as a medium. Its inherent portability meant it could easily capture scenes of modern urban development—infrastructures related to manufacturing like these "Tar Gardens". I argue this embodies Breitner's democratic approach to art making as a kind of visual sociology. He elevated the lives of ordinary people, not through grand portraiture, but through depictions of the built spaces that housed their labor and community. Editor: A sort of impressionistic sociological study – lovely phrasing, yes I love it! For me, this piece highlights that often, it’s what the artist chooses *not* to show that makes the work sing. Thank you, Breitner, for the delightful negative space, it lets the feeling breath and my mind wander. Curator: An insightful counterpoint and a solid ending to our brief encounter with "De Teertuinen". Thank you.