Studieblad met kruiwagens c. 1902

George Hendrik Breitner made this study sheet with what looks like a graphite pencil. And what we see here are sketches of wheelbarrows, or ‘kruiwagens’. The marks are jumbled, and they come on top of one another, so it’s hard to figure out exactly what the wheelbarrows look like. It’s really just a series of lines and shapes that only just suggest wheelbarrows at all. The lines are light and dark, which makes the image seem like it's shimmering, as if you can see air moving around the objects. I like how you can see the process of his looking – like his eyes and hand were working together. This reminds me a little of Manet, who also drew quickly and tried to capture the feeling of a moment, rather than a detailed description of something. It’s a reminder that art is really just about looking and experimenting. It embraces the beauty of unfinished ideas.