Sloterdijkbrug te Amsterdam, gezien vanaf de Nieuwe Teertuinen 1907

George Hendrik Breitner sketched this view of the Sloterdijk Bridge in Amsterdam using graphite on paper. I love how economical his marks are! With just a few lines, he captures the essence of the bridge and its surroundings, like he’s thinking aloud with his pencil. The texture of the paper plays a big part here; you can almost feel the roughness beneath his fleeting strokes. Breitner’s lines are not precious, they're immediate and exploratory. Take, for instance, the cluster of strokes at the bottom right. It’s like he’s testing out different ways to represent a detail, maybe the base of the bridge, or something else entirely. This sketch reminds me a bit of Cy Twombly’s work, in its casual, almost scribbled quality, but with a clear intention to capture a real, tangible place. It's a beautiful example of how a simple medium can convey so much.