Gezicht te Amsterdam, mogelijk het Damrak c. 1892 - 1923

George Hendrik Breitner made this sketch of a view in Amsterdam, possibly the Damrak, with graphite on paper. Look at the scratchy lines and the open composition – you can almost feel the artist circling the subject, trying to find the viewpoint. I feel a kind of kinship with Breitner in this work. It's like he's saying: “Here's what I see, here's how I make sense of it.” He is thinking through the tip of his pencil, trying to decide how to describe what’s in front of him. What kind of lines will best capture the depth of the buildings, the sparkle of the water? What mark will express it? It's a reminder that painting and drawing is a process, a conversation between the artist, the subject, and the medium. It’s like we can see him thinking, feeling, questioning, and ultimately, creating. That’s what makes it so engaging, don’t you think?