Gezicht in Amsterdam, mogelijk het Rokin c. 1886 - 1923

George Hendrik Breitner made this drawing, possibly of the Rokin in Amsterdam, with pencil on paper. Just look at the speed of those marks! It's like he's trying to capture the essence of a fleeting moment, a snapshot of everyday life. The texture of the paper, with its grid lines showing through, adds a sense of immediacy, as if he just grabbed whatever was handy and started sketching. You can almost feel the graphite rubbing against the page. See how he uses these quick, confident lines to suggest figures and buildings? It’s not about detail, but more about capturing the overall impression of the scene. Look at the figure on the left - that’s a great series of rapid marks. It feels like a conversation with the paper. Breitner reminds me a little of Degas, both capturing modern life with a similar kind of off-the-cuff frankness. There’s no grand statement here, just a simple, honest observation. It's loose, ambiguous, and all the more interesting for it.