Landschap 1884 - 1886

George Hendrik Breitner made this landscape drawing with pen in the late 19th or early 20th century. Notice the vertical element that dominates the composition; a rough sketch that suggests a tree, a symbolic representation of the connection between earth and sky. The tree motif appears across cultures, from the Tree of Life in ancient mythologies to the Norse Yggdrasil. Here, the bareness of the tree evokes a sense of starkness, a reminder of mortality, a theme echoed in countless vanitas paintings throughout the ages. Consider the emotional weight of this image. The simplicity in Breitner’s sketch taps into a deep, subconscious recognition of nature's cycles. The lone tree, rendered with such starkness, becomes a potent symbol, resonating with our collective memory. This motif, like a persistent dream, resurfaces time and again, each time slightly altered, yet eternally echoing the fundamental rhythms of existence.