Gezicht op het Hofje Zorgen Vrij te Rotterdam c. 1902

George Hendrik Breitner made this drawing, Gezicht op het Hofje Zorgen Vrij te Rotterdam, with pencil. Look at how Breitner fearlessly attacks the paper, not trying to conceal anything. It feels like he's right there, rapidly sketching the scene as it unfolds. I'm really drawn to the rawness of it, the bare bones of the composition laid out for us to see. The scratchy lines feel so immediate, like he's trying to capture not just the physical structure of the building, but the feeling of being there, in that moment. There’s something so appealing about how he embraces imperfection, even leaving in lines that others might have erased. It feels like he’s saying, "This is the process, this is how it's made," which for me is more interesting than some perfect, polished image. Think about de Kooning's drawings: they’re similar in that they have this raw, direct quality.