Studie, mogelijk van een haven 1886 - 1923

This is a pencil sketch of what might be a harbour, by George Hendrik Breitner. I love how Breitner allows us to witness his thinking through mark-making. There's something so compelling about seeing the bare bones of an idea. The lines are thin and tentative, scratching their way across the page. He uses a kind of shorthand, with patches of darker marks hinting at depth or shadow. It's all about suggestion, leaving plenty of room for our imaginations to fill in the blanks. Look at the way he indicates the vertical structure on the left - those slightly wavering lines create a sense of instability, a feeling of something not quite fixed. It reminds me a little of de Kooning's drawings, in that both artists share a similar interest in the poetics of transience. These artists remind us that art is not about answers, but about the questions we ask along the way.